Songs, stories, and cards geared toward the Christmas season focus on peace and goodwill to men. We think of carolers in the streets, families gathered in cozy homes, neighbors and strangers alike greeting one another, presents under trees, jingling sleigh bells, and acts of compassion.
Yet in the corner of the world where the story of Christmas originates people war over the piece of land that our traditions hold in such high regard. The one thing sure to not be found in the place of Christ's birth is peace. Fear, suspicion, and violence reign supreme.
And what drives this war? Religion. The very thing people the world over celebrate at this time of year.
I found myself wondering how religion can be such a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In one breath we name religion as the cause of peace and in the next breath the cause of war. I suppose we can draw parallels to other things such as diamonds that are associated both with rivalry and love or money which is the source of both comfort and despair.
In the end I suppose it is neither religion, diamonds, nor money that are the Jekyll and Hydes of the world - but men and women themselves. Perhaps true goodness and peace are to found only in the absence of everything else - including the absence of the religion we aspire to.
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