Because this is the Christmas season, we would also like to suggest a couple of programs with a Christmas-related theme, taught by Kenneth and Gloria.

Kenneth has been accused at times of taking away the Jesus of 2000 years of history and tradition, much like parents taking away Santa Claus from a child when it is time to grow up. This magical Jesus, many of us were taught, will help us with all our problems in the world if we promise to give him our love and devotion and acknowledge our sinfulness. In this program, Gloria joins Kenneth in dismantling the myth of Jesus' birth, noting how it has been used over the centuries to reinforce the ego's belief in differences, specialness, and sin. In Christianity, Jesus is the only Son of God, innocent and pure, whom God his Father sent into the world to be a sacrificial offering to atone for our sins through his suffering and death. The Jesus of the Course, in contrast, asserts our equality with him, as he shares his message of love and forgiveness with minds dreaming of a world, who have forgotten who we are. This Jesus wishes only to teach us that we too are sinless like him, and that true Atonement can never involve sacrifice and death. This recording includes a discussion led by Kenneth and Gloria with staff following the end of the program.

The only similarities between the Course and traditional Christianity are that they use many of the same words, but often with very different meanings. This can be confusing, especially when a student is new to the Course. This program compares the theology behind the Jesus of the Bible, who brought his saving light into a world of darkness to save it from sin, with the theology of the Jesus of A Course in Miracles, who reminds us that the light we all share is already present within our minds, ready to shine forth when we have undone the barriers to it—our choice to believe in our own sin and guilt—through the very gentle process of forgiveness.