The history of man always includes his search for origins. It is natural to try and figure out where we came from and why we are here. The most primitive view is one of an impersonal god such as a tree god, a mountain or simply a chance with numbers gave us life. This keeps us as a part of a system with no responsibility but to survive in our ecosystem. But it still begs the question of why we feel responsible as the managers of this earth. Did we just pick that up by some sort of evolution? This view is lacking since there seems to be a sense of justice and nobility in all of us and there are nuanced beauties along with a complexity of functions that an honest person cannot explain with an impersonal entity. At its worse it has an essence of kill or be killed; do whatever it takes to survive and improve our species.

So the next step in logic would be to think of a creator that has similarities to us but is superior. Societies each ended up with their own version of this personal god and his level of involvement in people’s lives. This view eventually gave way to a god who is just, perfect and eternal. Claims about interaction naturally sprung from this, along with how to right the injustices of the world. At its worse, it had elites that claimed they had it in with this god. Claims could be made of of a superior race or revelations resulting in genocide or blood sacrifice of animals and people. Numerous views of gods of this kind were scattered throughout different societies. This was tolerated in different forms for most of human history because a personal and just god makes sense. That is until an alternative view arrived.

A good story always has someone making personal sacrifices for others. The ultimate sacrifice is one’s own life. But even more than that, we value our own children’s lives above our own. A baby was born outside of nobility for the express purpose of going beyond class, race and notions of justice. Someone as valuable as God’s son born in a manger, subject to a poor family in tumultuous times. This perfect and just God, rather than demanding justice, giving, in a beautiful gesture of goodwill and peace. Whether you believe all the details or not, the story does have a certain beauty to it. So we give gifts following the same mindset. Sacrificing for each other as a gesture of goodwill and peace.