Post by Michael on Dec 21, 2009 13:04:58 GMT -5
Take a look at the Nativity Scene out in front of the local church:
* There is a stable filled with heavenly light.
* Baby Jesus lying in a manger (that's a food bin for animals)
* Mary and Jospeh
* The two midwives (Salome and Zalome)
* Three kings from the East.
* An ox and an ass inside the stable
* The camels (owned by the kings) tethered outside the stable
* Several shepherds and their sheep
Now let's see how many of these things we can find in the bible:
In Matthew chapter 2 we read: "there came wise men from the east...and when they were come unto the house, they saw the young child...and they presented him with gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh."
In Luke chapter 2 we learn that Mary "brought forth her first born son...and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn." Then an angel appeared before some shepherds "and the glory of the Lord shone round about them." The shepherds left the fields and went to Bethlehem where "they found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger."
* No ox
* No ass
* No midwives
* Not even a stable - Jesus was born in a "house".
* No camels
* No kings either, only "wise men"
* And not three wise men - just "wise men"
Can we know when Jesus was born?
The bible doesn't mention the day or the month, but it does give us a few clues about the year of JC's birth:
Matthew 2:1 says he was born while Herod was king of Judea and, since Herod ruled from 37BC to 4BC, most experts have decided the Jesus was born in about 6BC.
Luke 2:2 says Jesus was born at the time of the census when Quirinius was the Governor of Syria - and that happened in 6AD.
Luke 3:1-23 says Jesus was about 30 when he was baptised in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius. That 15th year was 29AD, so Jesus must have been born in about 1BC.
In John 8:57 the Jews say that Jesus is "not yet fifty" so they are obviously talking about someone over forty. Let's say he was forty-five. If so, he must have been born in about 15BC.
What happened after Jesus was born?
According to Matthew, on the day the wise men arrived at the house, Joseph took his family and fled into Egypt where they remained "until the death of Herod."
But Luke says the family spent eight days in Bethlehem and then went to the Temple in Jerusalem "to perform the ceremony of purification". And then they "returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee." No mention of a trip to Egypt!
-----
Christian apologists have tried to "harmonise" the gospel stories in a desperate attempt to explain the various contradictions, but only a "true believer" would be gullible enough to accept them.
* There is a stable filled with heavenly light.
* Baby Jesus lying in a manger (that's a food bin for animals)
* Mary and Jospeh
* The two midwives (Salome and Zalome)
* Three kings from the East.
* An ox and an ass inside the stable
* The camels (owned by the kings) tethered outside the stable
* Several shepherds and their sheep
Now let's see how many of these things we can find in the bible:
In Matthew chapter 2 we read: "there came wise men from the east...and when they were come unto the house, they saw the young child...and they presented him with gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh."
In Luke chapter 2 we learn that Mary "brought forth her first born son...and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn." Then an angel appeared before some shepherds "and the glory of the Lord shone round about them." The shepherds left the fields and went to Bethlehem where "they found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger."
* No ox
* No ass
* No midwives
* Not even a stable - Jesus was born in a "house".
* No camels
* No kings either, only "wise men"
* And not three wise men - just "wise men"
Can we know when Jesus was born?
The bible doesn't mention the day or the month, but it does give us a few clues about the year of JC's birth:
Matthew 2:1 says he was born while Herod was king of Judea and, since Herod ruled from 37BC to 4BC, most experts have decided the Jesus was born in about 6BC.
Luke 2:2 says Jesus was born at the time of the census when Quirinius was the Governor of Syria - and that happened in 6AD.
Luke 3:1-23 says Jesus was about 30 when he was baptised in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius. That 15th year was 29AD, so Jesus must have been born in about 1BC.
In John 8:57 the Jews say that Jesus is "not yet fifty" so they are obviously talking about someone over forty. Let's say he was forty-five. If so, he must have been born in about 15BC.
What happened after Jesus was born?
According to Matthew, on the day the wise men arrived at the house, Joseph took his family and fled into Egypt where they remained "until the death of Herod."
But Luke says the family spent eight days in Bethlehem and then went to the Temple in Jerusalem "to perform the ceremony of purification". And then they "returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee." No mention of a trip to Egypt!
-----
Christian apologists have tried to "harmonise" the gospel stories in a desperate attempt to explain the various contradictions, but only a "true believer" would be gullible enough to accept them.