Despite the vaunted sophistication and intellectual high-mindedness of the modern world, particularly of the West, it is still a festival with religious roots which has this enormous and irresistible force to pull us together.

Christmas is now largely a secular celebration, despite the plaintive cries for us to "remember the true meaning of Christmas" and to "put Christ back into Christmas".

Christmas was celebrated behind the Iron Curtain and its influence has spread to non-Christian countries such as China and India. In post-Christian Europe, Christmas is a major celebration. Christmas is universal. It represents the most successful marketing triumph of the modern era. Atheists like my friends who run Caribbean Dialogues will get together with family and friends, find time to relax, cherish good times and talk about the global crisis of capitalism.

Pagan origins

There are a few Christians who scorn Christmas, pointing to its pagan origins in the Roman Saturnalia festival and even earlier roots in various religious mythologies; but even they, upon careful thought, have to admit that were it not for the stunning marketing success and magnetic force of Christmas, stories about the Incarnation, the nativity of Christ and some aspects of the Christian Gospel would not get told with this kind of prominence.

The last couple of years have seen the rise of a militant atheism in the United States particularly. Sam Harris has published his The End of Faith, Richard Dawkins wrote The God Delusion, and Christopher Hitchens did God is Not Great and Daniel Dennett wrote his Breaking the Spell. They have received enormous publicity in the popular US press.

Their thesis is basically that religion is not just delusionary but dangerous; that its negative features outweigh its positives, and that humanity should grow up by abandoning religion. The people behind the 9/11 massacre were religious nuts, and the people holding up the peace process in the Middle East are the religious absolutists of Judaism or Islam (depending on the political position of the speaker).

Religious bigotry and small-mindedness are responsible for many evils in the world. Religion has been used as a major force for division and exploitation of women and minorities. Religion has been used as a tool of abuse and oppression by religious people, and even some religious doctrines themselves have been deleterious to people.

The record is replete with atrocities committed by religious zealots.

But that is not the complete record. There is also on that record a history of struggle against oppression, marginalisation and exclusion by religious people. In our part of the world, religion was used to justify slavery, but it was also an instrument in the fight against slavery. Religion has acted as an opiate of the masses, but it has given genuine comfort, solace and inspiration to many oppressed peoples.

At Christmas people enjoy the sense of brotherhood and camaraderie, the sense of family and communal bonds which have been fostered by religious grounding. Does secularism really have the resources for a viable altruistic ethic? Can secularism sustain objective morality? Many doubt it, including some secularists and atheists themselves.

Nietzsche's take

One well-known and influential philosopher who harboured serious doubts about whether we could resurrect a viable moral order after the death of God was Nietzsche.

Glenn Tinder in his essay, 'Can We Be Good Without God: the Political Meaning of Christianity' in the December 1989 issue of Atlantic, says Nietzsche "delineated with overpowering eloquence the consequences of giving up Christianity and every like view of the universe and humanity. His approval of that consequence and his hatred of Christianity give force to his argument. Many would think there are no consequences - that we can continue treasuring the life and welfare of every person without believing in a God who renders such attitudes and conduct compelling."

Tinder continues: "Nietzsche shows we cannot. We cannot give up the Christian God - and the transcendence given other names in other faiths - and go on as before. We must give up Christian morality too. If the God-man is nothing more than an illusion, the same thing is true of the idea that every individual possesses incalculable worth. The standard of agape (love) collapses."

At Christmas we are told about the God-Man who came into the world to redeem it and to eventually establish the Kingdom of God and to create perfect bliss for those who accept His offer of salvation. If that is the goal of life, then we should pursue it. But how can we know? How do we now we can trust the Bible, the source of the information about the birth of Jesus and his purpose for coming to Earth?

There are many persons who have come to doubt whether the Bible is a book we can stake our lives on. Most ignore its counsel that sex should be restricted to marriage - and more are now rejecting the view that sex should be confined to the opposite sex. It is now generally accepted that people will have sex before they are married, and many accept that they will have sex with people other than their marital partners. But in the Old Testament, people were stoned to death for that! The problem is this: If we can't trust the Bible or any other supposed source of divine revelation, and if we can't firmly establish any basis for metaphysics, how do we find transcendent meaning in life?

And if we evolved by blind chance and there is no design or purpose to the universe and human life, how do we live meaningfully on a day-to-day basis? How do we ground ethical commitments? There are profound consequences if God does not exist or if there is no viable metaphysics.

Of course, some atheists say that we can devise ethical moorings based on our common humanity and through notions of human interests, etc, but the problem with that is its relativism and unsure foundation.

Whatever we say, the issue of life's meaning is fundamental. And, at Christmas, while we eat, drink and are merry, it is good to spend some time thinking about what we value in life and the ends to which we should devote or life. Yale Law Professor Anthony Kronman, who teaches also in the Directed Studies Programme at Yale, has written an insightful book titled Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given up On the Meaning of Life.

Says Kronman: "Our lives are the most precious resource we possess and the question of how to spend them is the most important question we face. What do I care most about and why? For the sake of what, or who, am I living? What is my life for?"

These are the most important questions in life, and yet, if you put them to even many highly educated and 'successful' people, they would confess that they have never really given thought to them.

Demands of everyday life

Says Kronman: "For the most part, we spend our days addressing questions of a humbler kind. Should I take my umbrella to work? Call a friend and make a date? Should I change jobs? Invite an ageing parent to live in my home? Am I loved by my children? Am I worthy of their love?"

In light of these everyday, practical and pressing concerns, says Kronman, "the question of the value and purpose of life might, therefore, seem to be one we need not spend much time preparing to meet. Our time and energy are limited and the demands of everyday life immense." But perhaps at this time of the year, if we can squeeze some time in between enjoying fellowship with family and friends, we might give ourselves the luxury of pondering what life is really about and whether the Christ Event should really determine our life goals.

Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist who may be reached at ianboyne1@yahoo.com or columns@gleanerjm.com