The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
What it’s about, 21 December 2008
by LIM WEY WEN
A non-Christian is intrigued by a book that explains the real reason for the season.
THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS
By Rick Warren
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 131 pages
ISBN: 978-1847374974
ONE glimpse of this book’s cover and I could practically hear Santa’s guffaw and Rudolph’s galloping hooves, even though it was barely December when I first saw it.
Mind you, if Christmas is only celebrated by those of the Christian faith, then I suppose I do not “celebrate” it. But I never turn down a Christmas card or an invitation to a Christmas party because it is too much fun! Anyway, I think many in Malaysia will agree that Christmas has been, for a long time, an annual event in most of our lives, regardless of most faiths.
But of late, I’ve heard many say that people have forgotten what all the fuss over Christmas is really about. American pastor Rick Warren must agree, since he came up with this timely little gift book for the season.
Warren is author of the 2002 best-seller The Purpose Driven Life, and the choice of US President-elect Barack Obama to preside at the January inauguration, by the way.
In The Purpose of Christmas, Warren seeks to focus his readers’ attention on the true reason for the season: that Christmas is a birthday party for Jesus Christ, and it is a time for celebration, salvation, and reconciliation.
Nowadays, people tend to associate Christmas with frantic gift buying, crowded shopping malls, and over-excited kids; Warren also points out how the birth of Jesus has been turned into a mere marketing tool (via Santa, Rudolph, and their cohorts, including Frosty the Snowman). So he suggests that people slow down and contemplate the season’s true meaning: “The entire reason for Christmas is the love of God”.
This love, Warren goes on to explain, is exemplified in Jesus’ statement enshrined in the Bible: “God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Warren’s first words in The Purpose of Christmas hint that it does not aim to preach to the converted: “This book is dedicated to those who will accept, unwrap, and enjoy God’s Christmas gift to us.” However, I feel that reading this book does require some prior knowledge of Christianity.
I was, for instance, particularly perplexed by a passage that first says God loved the world so much He sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth, and then goes on to say that God loves us so much He came to earth as a human being so we could get to know Him and learn to trust Him and love Him back. But, but ... isn’t Jesus the Son and Messenger of God?
Fortunately my confusion did not offend my friend, and she politely explained the theology of the trinity over lunch – that God, in the Christian perspective, exists as three distinct elements, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A close but not exact analogy would be like three segments on one finger, or the belief that human beings are made up of mind, body, and soul.
Other concepts put forth are easier to understand, including Warren’s idea of celebrating Christmas with a birthday party for Jesus.
Although it may not be the first thing on my “wanted” list, as a non-Christian, I appreciated this book as an intriguing introduction to what Christians believe. I also appreciated the fact that by having to discuss areas I didn’t understand with friends, I gained a better understanding of Christianity – and gaining knowledge about a different faith to yours is important in a society where many religions are practised.
As a gift, The Purpose of Christmas would be best suited as a gentle reminder for Christians whose faith in Christmas has wavered due to the stress put on their body, soul, and pocket by the season’s demands; or for non-Christians who are not dogmatic about their own religion and who are open to learning about other faiths; and for those who are on the fence, as it were, as Warren’s writing is quite theological and somewhat evangelical.
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