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Philip Yancey grew up in a church that viewed God as an angry parent, out to punish the first misstep. He briefly ditched his faith, then worked his way back by writing to resolve things he didn't have answers to. More than 15 million readers have responded to his probing honesty in print. Philip writes regularly for our sister publication, Christianity Today.

Sorting through the stack of cards that arrived at our house last Christmas, I note that all kinds of symbols have edged their way into the celebration. Overwhelmingly, the landscape scenes render New England towns buried in snow, usually with the added touch of a horse-drawn sleigh. On other cards, animals frolic: not only reindeer but also chipmunks, raccoons, cardinals, and cute gray mice.

Angels have made a huge comeback in recent years, and the cards feature them prominently, though as demure, cuddly-looking creatures, not the type who'd ever need to announce "Don't be afraid!"

The explicitly religious cards (a distinct minority) focus on the holy family, and you can tell at a glance these folk are different. They seem unruffled and serene. Bright gold halos, like crowns from another world, hover just above their heads.

Inside, the cards stress sunny words like love, goodwill, cheer, happiness, and warmth. Yet when I turn to the gospel accounts of the first Christmas, I hear a very different tone, and sense mainly disruption at work.

Adapted from The Jesus I Never Knew (Zondervan, 1995) by permission.

Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

This Christmas, God, let me see behind a Jesus sanitized and neutered over the years to your actual battle-scarred, dragon-slaying Son.

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