Christmas - another view then we are always told.


Merry Christmas and peace to everyone.

In the Christmas story, we mostly talk about the mother and the child. Indeed, Mary had to suffer (as all women have) while delivering her child. And this child, as so many others in the world, was born in the gutter because his mother was not welcome in the hotels and (I assume) hospitals didn't exist in those days. But what would we do when all rooms are full (or not) and a pregnant (unknown) woman would like to deliver her child in our house. Indeed, ... .
Christmas decorations in Brussels

But poor Joseph. He is mostly ignored while I think he brought the greatest sacrifice. How many men would stay with their wife and support her and her child when she became pregnant from another? How many men would believe her when she says it was God who made her pregnant? Would most men not say she could have refused? And why didn't God choose a woman who was free and not married? But probably He couldn't choose a free woman because then she might have been killed as everyone would know she had sex before marriage. Mary was lucky that Joseph didn't throw her out of the house and that he accepted her child from a stranger.

Indeed, many women are raped in this world (often by men who despise women) causing lots of anxiety for these women. And often, instead of receiving support from their husband and family, they are thrown out of the house or even killed because people find she shamed her husband and families. Even when she was raped and therefore not to blame.

Christmas market in Brussels

Recently a Belgian judge convicted a whole family from murdering their daughter. The family had promised the girl to a nephew in Pakistan while she was in love with a Belgian (non-Muslim) guy. One could say that, in religious terms, Allah brought them together. But the family decided Allah was wrong and they could not allow their Muslim daughter to marry a non-Muslim. The young woman died for her believes as her family could not accept she disgraced them. This happens also in Christian and other families. Other moments the guy is killed because he loves a girl he is not allowed to love. During the war in Yugoslavia, there was a story about a Serb and Croatian boy and girl (don't know anymore who was who) who died because they loved each other. And how many gay people are refused to give their love to someone of their choice. Some years ago, two boys were hung because they had some fun with each other. Indeed, President Ahmadinejad and his Ayatollahs don't like those who love.

And still, many admire Mary to become pregnant from a stranger while they would never allow this to happen within their own family. Maybe the story is also a lot about Joseph who accepted his wife even when she had a child from outside their marriage. I don't say everyone should accept their wife when she has children with other men, but maybe the story means we should not abandon women who are raped by other men and we should be merciful towards them, even when they carry a child of the other guy as both our innocent. Is it not the raper who we should punish? A few years ago, the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America ordered a church ban on two doctors and a mother because, to save the life of the daughter after becoming pregnant after being raped by her stepfather, they had to abort the unborn child. As a result, the church made the suffering of the doctors, mother and girl even bigger in such a catholic country by blaming them. Still the mother and doctors preferred hell for themselves than died for an innocent girl. Why did I never hear the Church cursing the stepfather (maybe the Church understands too well the stepfather after all its own scandals).

Finally, for those who believe everything that is written in the bible: God approves IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) while many (christian) religious people think He doesn't. Indeed, according to the story of Jesus' birth, God had a wank, then gave His sperm to His angel to make Mary pregnant without intercourse just as we do during IVF (of course, this should be within a framework). Therefore, IVF is allowed according to the bible.

In conclusion.
For religious people, God allows IVF as argued above and men should be merciful for women carring another man's child.
For those who don't believe, there are (I think) two other ways to see this story:
  1. Mary was raped by another man and Joseph decided to look after his wife and her child as they were innocent to what happened to them.
  2. She had consensual sex with another man, was afraid her husband would throw her out of the house and instead of taking responsibilities for her actions, she made up a story about their God making her pregnant as she knew he would not question this story as he was a God-fearing man. Later, she was punished for her lie by losing her child who believed he was the son of God as he was always told when he was a child. (By the way, if God exist, all of us are sons and daughters of God).

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