The film was good, but in my opinion, the book is infinitely better. I’m talking about Andrew Hodge’s brilliant biography ‘Alan Turing: The Enigma’ which tells the story of the man ‘whose cipher cracking transformed the second World War.’ Turing is credited with being the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, and it’s even been suggested that his remarkable work shortened the war by as much as two years and saved the lives of some 14 million people.

The main focus of Turing’s top secret work at Bletchley Park was in cracking the ‘Enigma’ code. The ‘Enigma’ was a type of enciphering machine that allowed the German armed forces to send their messages very securely. And despite some initial breakthroughs by Polish mathematicians further refinements ensured that by the outbreak of World War Two the task of understanding their codes had become even more difficult.

But along with a fellow code breaker, Turing developed the ‘Bombe,’ a machine that significantly reduced the work of his fellow code-breakers and as a result by the mid 1940s the team at Bletchley were able to regularly understand those vitally important signals.

Now I never have been nor ever will be a code breaker, but like many others, I used to think of life as something of an enigma. What’s it all about? Why are we here? Do we have any significance? Are we just random collections of atoms whose thoughts are ultimately meaningless or are we highly developed animals with a sense of consciousness (whatever that means)?

Given all this, it ought to come as no surprise to find that there are those who suggest that our lives ought to be compared to shooting stars that light up the sky for a short time but soon fade away into the meaningless dark.

Darkness is probably a very appropriate image to use at this point because we often talk about being ‘in the dark’ not least when it comes to making sense of things we don’t understand.

All of which brings me to Christmas and the birth of the young child of whom a friend once said: “The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it.” I’m talking about Jesus of course. And so like millions of people, I will be celebrating His birth because He has shown us what life is all about, and how we can live it to the full.

Now Alan Turing was a remarkably complex character and lots of people found him difficult to deal with not least because of his readiness to question everything. I warmed to Turing because this is how I came to faith. People often make the mistake of thinking doubt and faith are mutually exclusive, but they are not. For faith implies trust rather than certainty; but thankfully that is all that God wants of us.

I came to faith ‘kicking and screaming,’ but I ended up persuaded that Jesus made perfect sense. And I’ve never regretted my decision to trust Him because He has enriched my life in so many ways.

It’s why I enjoy Christmas so much. It’s an annual reminder that I now know what life is all about. And it’s all because of one man; His name is Jesus.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]