Good evening on this the twenty forth day of December in the year of our Lord 2016.

I was recently in a conversation which Eve Keneinan pointed out (paraphrased):

I think that you need to grasp what the resurrection means fully in order to evaluate it. Christ brought a couple people back from the dead, so it’s not just that.

Which brought to mind this passage:

“I have the power to lay down my life, and I have the power to take it up again.”

Which is an utterly fascinating statement. To be brought back to life by the power of another is not that different from being brought to life in the first place, which is normally done by the power of another. But to be able to bring oneself back from the dead is quite another thing. It implies quite a different level of power, and quite a different reason for having a temporal life in the first place.

One of the many interesting things about Christianity is that it is entirely a story about a freely given gift; which fits in which what natural theology teaches us. Since God is complete in himself (simple with no parts), we cannot give him anything, an so the only possible reason God created us was for our sake. He cannot receive, but he can give.

On a different note, I’m at a relative’s house and we’re watching The Grinch Who Stole Christmas on DVD, and while it’s certainly enjoyable, it does turn out that the Blu-Ray version is noticeably better than the DVD version. (I’ve found that’s often not the case, for example I don’t think that the blu-ray of Terminator 2 is noticeably any better than the DVD version. Pride and Prejudice, by contrast, is much better on blu-ray. The one with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, I mean.)

Have a happy Christmas, and may God bless you.