Minimal Nativity Scene Thrills Atheists

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Lots of us our losing our religion in favor of Atheism, yet many grew up in households that were decked out in religious artifacts, even if only for the holidays.

Though many of us might eschew our religious beliefs for the peaceful world of Atheism, some of us still long for holiday family traditions. But do you truly see yourself with a full-on manger scene on your dining room table? How will you explain this to your Atheist buddies? What’s a lapsed Catholic to do?

Industrial designer Sebastian Bergne might have developed the Modernist’s happy medium. The Color Nativity is a set of seven hand-painted wood blocks that fit nicely in an accompanying wooden box. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill Lincoln Logs. Set these blocks up just right, and you have yourself a bona fide nativity scene. The box transforms into a manger, and the set’s wooden divider becomes a minimalistic Star of Bethlehem.

“[The Color Nativity] is essentially an experiment to see if the characters are still recognizable even after they have been reduced to only their color and composition,” Bergne tells Co. Design. “It is interesting to see that even people who might consider themselves to be without religion recognize most of the characters.” We feel that the set could benefit from some block camels and block sheep. But hey, that’s just us.

This contemporary and irreverent display (note: lack of Jesus) could perhaps draw the ire of a few Catholic purists. But that’s not the designer’s intent. “I would be surprised if it raised eyebrows in the religious community,” the designer says. “It totally respects and promotes Christian culture in a new and contemporary way.”

Everyone was born, including Jesus, and everyone dies, as did Jesus. We celebrate all sorts of holidays so why not the birth of Jesus? He was, after all a famous guy in his time and had some positive influence on the nations of the world. As an Atheist I have no problem with that, but when we start worshiping him as some kind of deity that’s where I draw the line.

MadMikesAmerica thanks Fast CoDesign for their contributions to this story.

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Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.

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