Tomorrow, I’m turning in my PhD! Thus, even though I’m Jewish, I feel rather festive.
Interestingly, I’ve often been asked to do Christmas related things for Christmastime.
Two Christmases ago, I was on the Moral Maze. It was a curious experience, because the panelists turned it into an unscripted debate about gay marriage and Jesus. Tim Stanley (who seems largely to believe in two things, God and Brexit) was anti- and felt sure Jesus would be also. Another, Giles Fraser, felt Jesus would be pro- and insisted religion evolves. I was sitting in my grandmother’s home at 4am, because of time zone differences. By the time they got to me I was wondering if I was meant to stick to my own brief still or not!
One year ago, Jonathan Rowson asked me to give a talk about being a Jew at Christmas. So I did, and now there’s a video out! You can see it here:
You can also read it here, where it was published on Fair Observer. I suggest Jesus wanted to abolish the family and wanted you to give away all your material possessions. He talks about it quite a bit, actually.
This year I was recorded for another Christmas day BBC show, then cut at the last minute. Ah well. Falalalalala…
and hope it’s a good one for you.