Christmas is just around the corner. For many, despite the loss of faith, it still holds meaning. What is it? The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus For centuries they have been the most important story in Western culture. A century and a half ago, Darwin, Marx, and Nietzsche began to shake the myth of the son of God. But while the divine aspect has declined, his figure, despite the often lamentable role of the official Church, has maintained moral authority: humility and generosity, radical egalitarianism, forgiveness, courage. Even an atheist philosopher like Bertrand Russell wondered if Jesus was "the wisest of men."