I got to thinking yesterday about the Nativity story and the birth of Jesus, I don’t know why, because I am not particularly religious, and I wondered just how true the events that are celebrated throughout the Christian world really are.
To my knowledge research has not as yet identified the “wise men” who visited the baby in the stable, although the time period is now more recognised as being a month after the birth, celebrated as the “Epiphany”.
But how were these events relayed to the point where they were written down by the authors or the Gospels, and just how much truth is there in the events?
There is little I recall regarding actual documents about King Herod having all newborn baby boys killed. I am not aware of any written records in Bethlehem about shepherds seeing a shining star and hearing angels singing on the hillsides. Was he really born in a manger in a stable because there was no room at the inn?
Jesus was, let’s face it, a newborn baby, so he wouldn’t remember anything, which leaves I presume only his parents, Joseph and Mary to relate the story over the years.
Now the gospels were written after the death of Jesus, in some cases many years after his death, by which time his parents had also passed on. So where did the authors get their information?
At best I assume, Joseph and Mary told the story of his birth to Jesus, who maybe relayed this to others while he studied in the temple in Nazareth at a young age, however, given the strict religious code of those days, such stories would have been not only banned but downlight dangerous to tell.
So maybe Jesus told the stories regarding his birth as he preached and built up his following, but if so, how come none of this is mentioned in the Gospels? Many of his other stories and preachings are included, but not the story of his birth.
Or are the majority of the events that took place during the birth of Jesus just fanciful colorations that have been added over the centuries to make the birth appear more miraculous, especially when being told to simpler folk or those of other faiths in an attempt to convert them to Christianity?
As I said, this article is not meant to be from a particularly religious angle. The thought of where the detailed information came from just had me puzzled. I would love to get some feedback from all angles to see what other people think about the origins of this story.
A friend sent me this cartoon today, which got me thinking – again… and I thought I would like to share with you a satirical view on what might happen if Jesus was to have visited other planets as well as ours. I hope you enjoy this.
There have been a number of very interesting discussions on this topic on Tagfoot regarding the historical evidence behind the nativity story, corroborating the actions of King Herod as well as the visitations of the Wise Men. I invite you to drop in there and take a look, if you are interested in more information.