It never fails that the mainstream media (MSM) is always so befuddled by Christmas. Recently, NewsWeek Online posted an article on a recent NewsWeek poll that showed that 79% of Americans surveyed believe in the virgin birth of Jesus of Nazareth. 69% of Americans believe in all of the miracles of Christmas (angelic chorus, three wise men, the star of Bethlehem, etc.). The article goes on to say that another 24% believe that Christmas is "a theological invention to affirm faith in Jesus Christ...."

It is obvious from the tone of the article that the MSM still doesn't understand Christians, let alone Christmas. The article seems to posit that the MSM still believes that those of us who believe in Jesus the Christ and pattern our lives after His example are more than a little nuts. The article makes little actual commentary, but spends a great deal of time listing the various statistics gathered in their poll. It's as if NewsWeek feels that Christmas is just another sociological phenomenon that needs to be studied. Well, wake up MSM! Christmas cannot be understood solely as a statistical survey of a given population (1,009 respondents, in this case).

This poll follows another article in NewsWeek's December 13th issue on Christmas. First off, the NewsWeek article "Religion: The Birth of Jesus" uses throughout the King James Version for its biblical citations. I'm sure that this is done in order to make the whole story seem antiquated and parochial -- as if it's positively ancient and not worthy of consideration. I don't think NewsWeek's article could portray the Christmas story more negatively. Using terms like "riven with complexity and controversy..." and "...the old tale..."

Yet, as with so many other elements of faith, the Nativity narratives are the subject of ongoing scholarly debate over their historical accuracy, their theological meaning and whether some of the central images and words of the Christian religion owe as much to the pagan culture of the Roman Empire as they do to apostolic revelation.

As previously stated, NewsWeek and the rest of the MSM think we're nuts. How could you believe this stuff? But, there are some who do understand it. We Christians are not throwing intellectuallism to the wind. For centuries, the only true intellectuals were those coming out of Europe's best theological seminaries. Even today there are those are acknowledging the intellectual underpinnings of faith in God. Just yesterday, Dennis Prager cited the "world's foremost atheist, Anthony Flew" has come to the conclusion that there is a God. One only has to read C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" to get a well-reasoned, intellectual approach to believing in both God and his Son -- Jesus the Christ.

But, not matter what the MSM says or thinks, I will continue to be an intellectual believer.

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.