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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Lovely. Thank you, Nick. and happy
Solstice/Yule/Christmas/ etc. You nailed it!! (as always).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Debi R-S</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"
dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=ngier006@gmail.com href="mailto:ngier006@gmail.com">Nicholas Gier</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, December 25, 2013 11:15
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] The Christmas Story
and Other Redeeming Myths</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><FONT size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Merry
Christmas Visionaries:</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><FONT size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">I wrote this
for Christmas 2005 and I see it as my own version of the Dear Virginia letter
that is published every year and everywhere at Christmas. Yes, Santa is
a myth but it, just like the Bible story, it is a tale that tells profound
truths.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><FONT size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">I'm
celebrating one special person this Christmas: my daughter is here and she is
now a tenured associate professor at the University of Alberta. Plus, she will
have her first sabbatical in 2014-2015. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px"><FONT size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Let's tip
our glasses to all those young scholars out there who face higher and higher
hurdles as they make their run through the increasingly corporatized
university. My daughter and her colleagues have a very strong faculty
union to protect them. My daughter now makes $30,000 more as an
associate professor than I did as a full professor at the end of my
career.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px">For those
who wish to read more on Luke’s census and the savior archetype,
see</SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px"> </SPAN><A
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,102); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px"
href="http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/census.htm">www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/census.htm</A><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px"> </SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px">and
/archetype.htm.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px"><FONT size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Happy New
Year to all,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Nick</FONT><SPAN
style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; FONT-FAMILY: verdana,sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: large"> </SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"
align=center><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">The Christmas Story and Other Redeeming
Myths</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"
align=center><FONT size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">A myth is a tale that
tells truth—Anonymous</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">At the risk of being a Grinch who ruins
Christmas, I would like to go behind the Christmas Story and relate what
scholars know about the biblical texts involved. I hope that the result will
be a more enlightened perspective on the role of such stories in the common
life of humankind.</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">In the second chapter of Matthew we read the
story of wise men who came from the East to worship the baby Jesus. These men
are called <I>magoi</I> (Greek for magicians), and scholars have
identified them, if they were there, as Zoroastrian priests from
Babylon.</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">There are several problems with this
story. If they were following a star in the East, they would have been
heading in the direction of the birth of a Hindu savior, not a Jewish
one. Most likely, however, they were seeking their own savior, one named
Saosyant.</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Jewish historian Josephus hated King Herod
and chronicled his life in great detail, but it is very odd that he never
mentions the slaughter of infants found in Matthew 2:16. <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">The
Buddha and Krishna also had royal genealogies and miraculous conceptions; they
worked miracles and escaped the clutches of death. Jesus, Krishna, and
Zoroaster were also threatened in infancy by demon kings. Could these be
redeeming myths and not actual history?</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Returning now to the beginning of the story,
there is no record of Caesar Augustus’ decree that “all the world should be
enrolled” (Luke 2:1). The Romans kept extremely detailed records of such
events. Not only is Luke’s census not in these records, it goes against
all that we know of Roman economic history.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">In Josephus’ account of the Roman census in
6 C.E., he writes that those people taxed were assessed of their possessions,
including lands and livestock. But Luke has Joseph and Mary making a
three-day journey, away from their home and possessions in Nazareth, to
register in their alleged ancestral home in Bethlehem.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">An Egyptian papyrus recording a census in AD
104 states that “since registration by household is imminent, it is necessary
to notify all who for any reason are absent from their districts to return to
their own homes that they may carry out the ordinary business of
registration.”</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">The authors of the Gospel of John apparently
do not know of Jesus’ alleged birth in Bethlehem. Nathanael does not
know it (7:46), and no one answers the challenge of the crowd when they say:
“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scriptures said that the
Christ comes from Bethlehem?” (7:42).</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">At this point some readers may be saying:
“Way to go, Gier, you’ve just spoiled Christmas more than any commercial
enterprise could ever do.”</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Let me tell you about a wise woman in an
African village whose job it was to instruct the children in the tribe’s
myths. She began each session with the following disclaimer: “The
stories that I will tell you are not true, but they are the most important
stories that you will ever hear.”</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">In India it is the grandmother’s task to
teach Hindu mythology to the children. These are fantastic tales of
great heroes and heroines, but also much violence, death, and sex. Their
graphic “in your face” style, not too different from Grimm’s <I>Fairy
Tales</I> or many Old Testament stories, has a very important
socio-psychological purpose.</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">In Europe and America, where we pride
ourselves (even very religious people do) by living without myth and legend,
we still pay huge sums to psychotherapists to help us recover from unresolved
experiences of violence, death, and sex. I’ve always thought that Hindu
mythology serves as a fairly effective substitute for a mental health program
that the Indians cannot afford.</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Every year Unitarian children, some of whom
I’ve taught world religions, celebrate the miraculous births of Confucius,
Buddha, and Jesus. Could not these births simply be symbols of the light of
hope that every new born child brings to a broken world?</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">In conclusion I offer this poem by Unitarian
religious educator Sophia Lyon Fahs:</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">And so the children come.</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em"><FONT size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">And so they
have been coming.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Always in the same way they come,<BR>Born of
the seed of man and woman.<BR>No angels herald their beginnings,<BR>No
prophets predict their future courses,<BR>No wise men see a star to point
their way<BR>To find a babe that may save humankind.<BR>Yet each night a child
is born is a holy night.<BR>Fathers and Mothers,<BR>Sitting beside their
children’s cribs,<BR>Feel glory in the wond’rous sight of life
beginning.<BR>They ask: “When or how will this new life end?<BR>Or will it
ever end?”<BR>Each night a child is born is a holy night.</FONT></P>
<P
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 1.3em; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0.8em; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><FONT
size=4 face="verdana, sans-serif">Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at
the University of Idaho for 31 years. </FONT></P></DIV>
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