Born to be wild? Tim Gee finds another way to tell the oversweet story of Christmas

‘Why, when the prophets said he would be called “Prince of Peace”, was Jesus named after a military man?’

by Tim Gee 18th December 2020

At this time of year, the Christmas story is hard to escape. In advent calendars, cards, school plays and nativity sets, the story of Jesus’ birth is everywhere. One Quaker response is to ignore all this – after all Christ is born in our hearts every day. But I take a slightly different – although not incompatible – approach: to read these stories in a way that takes the political turmoil of the time into account, to ask what it says to us today.