Christmas cards may promote myths, but Christmas is no fiction.
Jesus’ birth had more in common with Law and Order® than Hallmark Movies®.
Why is the original, true story so important?
Watch our two minute video. Part 2 next week (full text below).
If there is no TRUE STORY, there is no story to tell.
Blessings on The Holiday, from all of us at The Comenius Institute.
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people in public university (1 minute video), hosts a weekly radio program with diverse groups of guests (1 minute video), and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video).
Picture Credit: Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT:
Myths, falsehoods, and exaggerations cover greeting cards every December. Here are a few.
“Santa Claus” is actually based on a person in Church history whose name was Saint Nicholas.
Jesus was not born on December 25th. Mary did not ride on a donkey.
The “inn” was not Motel 6 but refers to someone’s home.
The “stable” was really a cave.
“Manger” was a feeding trough for cattle probably cut out of the cave’s rock floor.
“Three Magi” seems to be based solely on the number of gifts given by the wise men.
These and other fictions about Christmas arise from extra-biblical sources such as Christmas carols. This is what we know for sure: “All was calm, all was bright” it was not.
Jesus’ birth story reads more like a reality detective show. He was born, as we would say, “out of wedlock.” “Unplanned pregnancy” is putting it mildly. In addition to the stigma of supposed premarital sex, Mary gave birth while she was literally “on the road.”
The first witnesses of “Christmas” were from the lowest rung of society—shepherds. Scholars who should have been following the events did not seem to care. Yet, astrological signs made pagan sorcerers travel hundreds of miles to follow a star. Angels could not help themselves but exclaim. And then the bad guys show up and things get really interesting.
From the beginning, Jesus encountered threats against His life. The Palace enlisted the aid of foreign intellectuals to locate the baby. When outsiders outwitted the king, he dispatched shock troops to find and kill The Child.
This is no Christmas card myth, falsehood, or exaggeration. You mean soldiers were sent to kill Jesus? That’s the truth from Matthew 2. Stay tuned for part two next week.
For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel. For all of us at the Comenius Institute, we wish you and your family a blessed season, celebrating Jesus’ birth.
Source: WarpAndWoof