The Still Point of the Turning World
Christmas reminds us of the certainties in a world of uncertainty.
By Robert Spencer
“At the still point of the turning world,” T. S. Eliot writes in “Burnt Norton.” That’s where Christmas is. “Except for the point, the still point,” he adds, “There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.” For Christians, Christmas is one of the still points of the turning world, as the great feast days of other religions are for their adherents. In an age of such uncertainty as ours, these days serve as anchors amid all the turning and shifting, reminding us of the truths that remain eternal, no matter how much they may escape our notice amid the welter of the daily rush of events.
As Christmas 2024 approaches, the believers in the birth of him who is celebrated on that day are under attack everywhere. In Syria, despite assurances from the new jihadi overlords of much of the country, a church has been attacked, and a Christian couple has been murdered. The world holds its breath, waiting for what is to come next, as the jihadis have declared their intention to impose Sharia and subjugate the Christians.
At the same time, not only did a man whom Germany welcomed and gave refuge murder multiple people and injure many others in a vehicular attack on a German Christmas market, but German authorities are trying to use his massacre to silence any lingering criticism of the policies they have pursued and continue to pursue that will ultimately result in the Islamization of Germany and the marginalization, subjugation, and eventual extinction of the native Christians.
Those same authorities, meanwhile, foiled several Islamic jihad plots at Christmas markets. What once were joyous and carefree celebrations of the indigenous culture of the people are now tense affairs marred by multiple vehicle barriers and a heavy police presence. Christmas is still celebrated in Germany, but only as under siege.
That is not true just in Germany. Open Doors reported Thursday that several churches in Bangladesh received a letter from “a local hard-line Muslim political party.” This letter read: “On Christmas day, at the same time together in 64 Districts, we have plans for that night. We are coming for you – anytime and anywhere. Many local people have complained against you. You have been converting Muslim people to Christianity for a long time by luring them with money. Get ready with your perfect answers when questioned on these matters. We are coming for you – anytime and anywhere. Also, you are not going to enjoy your upcoming Christmas meal – before eating remember to say your goodbyes to all your family members and to the world. Alongside this, we give a very special farewell to those who have converted from Islam to Christianity in the Rangpur district.”
In ostensibly secular but rapidly re-Islamizing Turkey, the lone Christian member of the Turkish parliament, George Aslan, recently tried to deliver a Christmas message to his parliamentary colleague, only to find that the deputy speaker of the parliament, Bekir Bozdag, had turned off his microphone. Aslan noted the obvious double standard: “When verses from the Koran are recited here, the microphone is not turned off. Because they say it’s a holy language. The language I just spoke is Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. If holiness matters, this is a holy language too. Then the microphone should also be turned off when the Koranic verses are recited.”
Meanwhile, in “moderate” Indonesia,” according to Morning Star News, Muslims in one village “stopped a church choir from rehearsing on Sunday evening (Dec. 1) for a Christmas service on the false premise that the Christians needed permission from community leaders.” In Australia, “the Myer’s annual Christmas windows display in Bourke Street mall, which normally draws thousands of visitors, was forced to cancel its events after threats by pro-Palestinian protesters.”
In a similar vein in Britain, a village school headteacher sent a letter to parents, telling them that in an upcoming performance of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” no reference to Christmas would be made. “We have a number of families who either do not celebrate Christmas,” the headteacher explained, “or do so in a different way. The children of these families are removed from events such as this, at the request of their parents. As this is not a Christmas event, but a pantomime, it can be enjoyed by everyone wit [sic] the changes we have requested. We are keen that ALL of our children should enjoy the pantomime and for it to be a fully inclusive event, have removed Christmas songs from the production.”
When they talk about being “inclusive,” they mean avoiding offending Muslims. No other group would conceivably be offended by a Christmas festival. And when Muslims are firmly in charge in shattered, staggering, dhimmi Britain, will they return the favor and be careful to be “inclusive” to non-Muslims? What do you think?
And so the Feast of the Nativity for the Year of Our Lord 2024 is almost upon us, and Christians the world over are on the defensive. If they’re not the victims of violence, they’re told not to make too much of a fuss about one of their central feasts – or else. If not that, they’re subject to the scorn and ridicule of the intelligentsia which continues to invite their ancient enemy into their lands in massive numbers.
Yet the feast itself reminds us: all these events are turning around the still point. The ultimate victory is not to be found at the end of all these acts of persecution and marginalization, large and small. The more important battle, and harder won victory, lies elsewhere. That is the lesson of the day: that however much the forces arrayed against what is good and what makes for a fruitful and joyful human society may seem to have won, they have not. Amid all the bloodshed and loss and deprivation, we know those forces do not have the the last word. Hope is the promise that the flower, however withered, will blossom again. And it will. At the still point of the turning world.