Bethlehem's
Manger Square The site of Christ's birth may well have been a cave,
much like the cave in which his body was buried, or a stable, among the animals.
In either case, it was a place provided by others. He entered the world as
he left it, without wealth or status.
Today the church located
on the legendary site of his birth in Bethlehem stands on one side of a public
square where Israeli soldiers and Palestinian youth confront each other,
sometimes violently so. On the day I visited Bethlehem, I witnessed one such
confrontation as soldiers shoved Palestinian teenagers against the wall of
the church in this picture and searched them for weapons.
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The Rev. Charles P. Henderson is a Presbyterian minister and
Executive Director of CrossCurrents.
He is the author of God and Science (John Knox Press, 1986).
A revised and expanded version of the book is appearing here. God and Science (Hypertext Edition,
2005).
He is also editor of a new book, featuring articles by world class scientists and theologians, and illustrating the leading views on the relationship between science and religion: Faith, Science and the Future (CrossCurrents Press, 2007).
Charles also tracks the boundry between the virtual and the real at his blog: Next World Design, focusing on the mediation of art, science and spirituality in the metaverse.