Christmas is upon us, with gifts – and the economic boon that results – feasts a plenty – and the inevitable weight gain that results – and fanciful tales of the jolly old man in red with his tiny helpers and magical reindeer. In all the hype it’s easy to forget the origin Christmas – Jesus.

But a billboard at the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel in New Jersey boldly reminds us of the essence of the holiday, then roundly rejects it. The billboard, sponsored by the American Atheists argues that the account of Jesus’s birth is just as fantastical as a legend of the plump man in a red suit. It reads, “You KNOW it’s a Myth / This Season, Celebrate REASON!”

American Atheists claim they are merely encouraging other “secret” atheists to stop celebrating the holiday, however secular it has become. On their website they write, “Millions of atheists are closeted, choosing to go along to get along, and feigning religion to their friends, family, and coworkers.”

Okay… But it seems to me that the atheists are missing one key point here.  Their claim that “reason” and “faith” are mutually exclusive is presumptive and itself a “leap of faith.” The fact is, there is SOLID historical and archaeological evidence to support the Biblical accounts, including the birth of Jesus. There’s more supportable details for an actual historical person Jesus than for Julius Caesar or Socrates. Is faith in their existence not reasonable?

As for the miraculous elements of Jesus’ birth claimed in the Bible, well, just how “certain” are we about what is and isn’t possible in this universe? Science itself in the last 100 years has ceased to be so predictably reasonable…  Read even a layman’s book on quantum mechanics and any myth of certainty flies out the window… Reason as the sole tool to finding truth is itself now a myth… So why not believe in Something, Someone higher and better?  That is what makes sense, sense of the world.

What are your thoughts?