As I thought ahead to the publication of this week’s episode, I noticed that it would fall on the week of Christmas. I glanced up at my bookshelf and pulled down my copy of In Defense of Faith by David Brog and I realized the message Brog presents in that book was a perfect foundation from which to base this week’s episode on.

Brog describes his book’s purpose as a rebuttal to the claim that people of faith are responsible for our greatest sorrows, bloodshed, war, hatred. His primary message is the Judeo-Christian tradition has been an overwhelming force for good throughout history with its message of equality and sanctity of all humans combined with the call to love one another. It’s the idea that all humans are made in the image of God and, therefore, are worthy of respect.

When you look at the atrocities committed in the world over time, you will notice that most of them were perpetrated with a purposeful rejection of the Judeo-Christian tradition.