When Nietzsche said that God was dead, he didn't mean that someone had killed him. Rather, he was pointing out that both philosophy and science, which had grown out of the Enlightenment, had made God redundant, since we could now explain the natural world without the need for a divinity. He didn't necessarily think that was a good thing; moreover he suspected that many would be plunged into a meaningless existence without God.

Much of this has played out in the 20th Century, with two world wars, genocides, the threat of nuclear destruction and so forth, all being a bi-product of existential angst. But God and Christianity have not died for many, despite the best efforts of Marxism to eradicate them, and capitalism to co-opt and subvert them for profit. I find it remarkable that so many Christians support an economic system that so openly derides and exploits them, all in the name of a supposed liberty. Better to be oppressed and thrive than this sad demise by a thousand cuts.

With another Christmas shortly upon us, surely it behoves us to think beyond the frippery and well-meant cliches in order to search for meaning within. The Christmas story never ceases to amaze - in its simplicity of message and its humble actuality. You don't have to have faith, but it helps to suspend your cynicism.