Stephen R. Holmes, The Politics of Christmas (London: Theos, 2011).
The ever-productive team at Theos have produced another helpful-looking booklet, this one written by Stephen Holmes, on Christmas.
There are more details here, it’s available for download here, and here’s the back cover blurb:
‘Christmas is about spending time with family and friends... at least, that is what the vast majority of us think.
‘Yet, this safe, domestic Christmas was largely an invention of the Victorians. The Christmas stories themselves, as told in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels, are far less peaceful and far more unsettling.
‘Economic exploitation, imperial oppression, social stigma, petty tyranny: all are in the sights of a story in which God himself is born into a poor, vulnerable and somewhat unorthodox family unit.
‘While Christmas must undoubtedly be a time for family and generosity, Stephen Holmes argues, it should also be a moment when we hear and attend to the Bible’s message of justice and freedom for all.’
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