Dr. Shant Shahbazian, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Physics, has published a note on the occasion of the birth of Jesus Christ (PBUH), which is presented below:
In the new era of "cultural Christianity," a time when "theological Christianity" and its endless, futile, and sometimes bloody disputes have been relegated to the dustbin of history, the significance of Jesus Christ for the majority of Christians is likely no longer as much tied to Him being a historical figure or even a heavenly savior. Instead, He serves more as a symbol of moral principles, family values, and an inspiration for establishing and supporting charitable organizations to aid those in need. We will probably never fully understand His real opinions and goals. The historical Christ remains a vague figure buried in the depths of history, visible only through fragmented glimpses provided by the framework of Gospel narratives. Nevertheless, the movement established in His name within the Roman Empire and later the Kingdom of Armenia spanned the breadth of history and, after two millennia of significant struggles, has persisted into the modern world—perhaps reflecting humanity's need for meaning, compassion, and the creation of a collective identity around a shared idea.
The "cosmopolitan Christianity" of antiquity and the Middle Ages was replaced in the modern era, the age of nation-states, by "national Christianity," which is defined within the context of national identity and serves as a unifying social element alongside other components of national and ethnic identity. Despite the German philosopher Nietzsche declaring the "death of God" at the end of the 19th century, it may have been precisely this evolution and adaptation to national identity—along with relinquishing competition with empirical sciences in describing natural phenomena—that became Christianity's secret to survival in the 20th century.
In the postmodern era and our current age, where instead of Marxism, capitalist economics and liberal ideas claim universal applicability and seek to merge and dissolve national and local identities into a shapeless global identity, national Christianity and its institution, the Church, remain critical elements in resisting this anti-historical trend.
In any case, in a world where war, genocide, and ethnic cleansing are not relics of the past but daily realities, the need for morality, compassion, and empathy may be no less than it was in the first century CE. May the existence of religions not be the source of such evils but rather a balm for the wounds they inflict.