It seems hardly news that Joe Biden would reverse his promise and pardon his son, Hunter. Of course he did. It's what fathers do -- help their kids avoid the consequences of their actions. Well, not good fathers, but ... you know what I mean.
And Now For Something Completely Different
I'm sorry. I know this is my News Weakly, but this was the slowest news week I've seen ... in years. You have, above, the only newsworthy story I could find all week. So I thought I'd take a break today and give you a timely quiz. A Christmas quiz.
1. What were the words that the angels sang to the shepherds?
2. How many wise men showed up at the manger?
3. Why did Mary have the baby in a stable?
4. What was the date of Jesus's birth?
Well, that's enough, I suppose. There are actually quite a few myths around Christmas that we've built and embraced over the centuries. The Catholics are sure Joseph was much older than Mary, but that's because they're certain he never ... consummated their marriage. ("Virgin" Mary, remember?) We all know that Mary rode into Bethlehem on a donkey ... but there's no mention in Scripture. We don't even know if Mary gave birth the night they arrived in Bethlehem. Just another tradition. But the birth of the Son of God, God Incarnate, to a virgin impregnated by the Holy Spirit, is no myth, no mere tradition, and no small thing. "God with us" is no myth. Despite our efforts to cloud things with myths and traditions, His birth remains an amazing, true story, even without Santa Claus.
________
1 We all know it was something like "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!" (Luke 2:13-14). (I know, that's not what the song says, but that's the most accurate translation.) Of course, according to Scripture, they didn't sing at all. They spoke. But, hey, that doesn't feel so exciting, does it?
2 Sorry, that was a double trick question. First, we don't know how many wise men there were. Scripture lists three ... gifts (Matt 2:11), not how many men. And, of course, the text in Matthew suggests they showed up after Jesus's birth; maybe up to two years after (Matt 2:7,16).
3 As we all know from song and the King James Bible, there was "no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). Interestingly, there is a serious question about that. The word is literally "guest chamber." In fact, it's the word Jesus used when He sent His disciples to prepare for the Passover. They were to inquire about the "guest chamber" (Luke 22:11). Houses in those days often included a lower floor where the animals were kept and an upper floor where the people lived. They would have an "upper room" in it for guests. It is very unlikely that Joseph and Mary went to an "inn" when they went to where their family was. They likely went to a family home, where the "guest chamber" was already taken, so the family put them up downstairs. Mary was likely not alone with Joseph for the birth; she probably had family with her. Not a significant fact, but interesting.
4 Okay, this one is a doozy. While some uncritically affirm He was born on December 25, more savvy folk assure us He was not. Couldn't have been. Not the time for shepherds, being the dead of winter. Worse, they say, we celebrate December 25 because it was a pagan holiday for the birth of the Roman Sun god. Christianity, they say, ripped it from its pagan roots to make it a Christian celebration of the birth of the Son of God. Turns out that may also be false. Recent scholars have suggested that the early church believed Jesus was born on December 25, not because of Saturnalia, but because of the belief that a person's date of conception was also their date of death. Jesus died on Passover, which they believed was March 25 of that year. Calculating 9 months from there, Jesus would have been born on or around December 25. Nothing to do with Saturnalia. Was Jesus born on December 25th? Most will tell you no. Some say it's possible. The Bible doesn't say. So, in the end, we don't know. But don't leap too quickly to the "pagan roots" theory of Christmas. That may just be a trick from Satan.
2 Sorry, that was a double trick question. First, we don't know how many wise men there were. Scripture lists three ... gifts (Matt 2:11), not how many men. And, of course, the text in Matthew suggests they showed up after Jesus's birth; maybe up to two years after (Matt 2:7,16).
3 As we all know from song and the King James Bible, there was "no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7). Interestingly, there is a serious question about that. The word is literally "guest chamber." In fact, it's the word Jesus used when He sent His disciples to prepare for the Passover. They were to inquire about the "guest chamber" (Luke 22:11). Houses in those days often included a lower floor where the animals were kept and an upper floor where the people lived. They would have an "upper room" in it for guests. It is very unlikely that Joseph and Mary went to an "inn" when they went to where their family was. They likely went to a family home, where the "guest chamber" was already taken, so the family put them up downstairs. Mary was likely not alone with Joseph for the birth; she probably had family with her. Not a significant fact, but interesting.
4 Okay, this one is a doozy. While some uncritically affirm He was born on December 25, more savvy folk assure us He was not. Couldn't have been. Not the time for shepherds, being the dead of winter. Worse, they say, we celebrate December 25 because it was a pagan holiday for the birth of the Roman Sun god. Christianity, they say, ripped it from its pagan roots to make it a Christian celebration of the birth of the Son of God. Turns out that may also be false. Recent scholars have suggested that the early church believed Jesus was born on December 25, not because of Saturnalia, but because of the belief that a person's date of conception was also their date of death. Jesus died on Passover, which they believed was March 25 of that year. Calculating 9 months from there, Jesus would have been born on or around December 25. Nothing to do with Saturnalia. Was Jesus born on December 25th? Most will tell you no. Some say it's possible. The Bible doesn't say. So, in the end, we don't know. But don't leap too quickly to the "pagan roots" theory of Christmas. That may just be a trick from Satan.
6 comments:
I posted an article a bit over a decade ago, which addresses the issue of when Jesus was born. The various thoughts include August, September 29th, Winter, and December 25th. You and your readers might find it worthwhile to read. It's just citations from many scholars.
http://watchmansbagpipes.blogspot.com/2013/12/christmas.html
About 4 months ago, Joe said he would under no circumstances pardon his son because he believes in the justice system. All the conservative commentators politely smiled and nodded at the dottering old man, and all the liberal commentators made fun of the conservatives for their skepticism. And then he went and did the thing (far above and beyond the thing in fact) and the conservatives were "shocked, shocked I say", and the liberals were amazed and confused how their precious Joe could lie to them. And not only did he do the thing he said he wouldn't do, he did it for the opposite reason he said he wouldn't (because Hunter was being unfairly prosecuted by the justice system). And now that he's considering preemptively pardoning many others that aren't even being charged kind of admits what the Right has been saying for 4 years.
1 I knew it was a trick question, but you can't blame us for thinking they were singing since it says they praised God, and clearly the only way to praise God is through song.
2 That one I knew had no real answer.
3 Now, I've also heard that it wasn't a manger in stable like we think, but a cave for the animals and the manger was actually a cut out inset in the cave.
4 Wouldn't it be amazing if it were true that the date of your conception was when you'd die? That would mean every year, you should be looking for that which will kill you for days around when you think you might have been conceived (you know, for those that are actually afraid of death), a date which most people will never know because 9 months is simply an average rather than a hard and fast rule. I kind of like the shepherds-wouldn't-be-out-in-winter idea, but that won't stop me from celebrating His birth in the traditional day.
Stan, I’m always glad to see those “Christmas myths” busted and our focus brought back to just what the Word tells us, which truly is sufficient and “amazing,” as you say, and in need of no embellishment. (You addressed four of the biggest Christmas story inaccuracies, I think.) For instance, if we needed to know the exact date of Jesus’ birth, I am sure it would be clearly stated in the New Testament. Regarding the “belief that a person's date of conception was also their date of death”: I have heard of that before and found it baffling. Are there many cases one can point to where the dates of a person’s birth and his/her death are (roughly) nine calendar months (or three, depending on how you calculate it) apart? I haven’t observed that at all, so I find it an odd theory.
I just want to say, the "date of conception is the date of death" theory is not mine. I mean, I have no reason to believe it. It is a documented belief in the early church fathers, and a suggested reason they chose December 25. Just to be clear. I don't think the principle has merit, but it would be a reason other than "a pagan holiday" for our current date.
Glenn, I found the various arguments in your article interesting. (While I enjoy considering all the reasonable proposals out there, I end up concluding that we can’t know for sure--and neither do we need to, afterall.)
Here's a link to a good article I just came across that addresses many more Christmas myths (I didn’t realize there were so many out there!):
https://michellelesley.com/2024/12/11/christmas-mythbusters-6/
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