There used to be a great teacher of the Old Testament at Duke Divinity School by the name of Elbert Russell. Dr. and Mrs. Russell usually spent Christmas holidays in Greensboro, North Carolina with their daughter and her family. On one Christmas morning they opened presents at sunrise as usual. They sat down to a sumptuous breakfast. Dr. Russell's grandson Rusty was 8 then, and he had learned lots of things since he was 7. "Grandpa," he said, "I have made a discovery." "What is that?" his grandfather asked. "I have found out all about Santa Claus, the myth of Christmas."

There was an embarrassed silence around the table. Then the boy added, "And that's not all. When I get a little older, I'm going to look into this Jesus business." The old professor braced himself, looked straight into th…