“The Nativity: Facts, Fiction and Faith”
Special program featuring popular BAS authors and speakers to air Christmas Day
This year on Christmas Day, Fox News will air “The Nativity: Facts, Fictions and Faith,” a program that examines one of the most well-known and enduring New Testament stories through an analysis of both scripture and archaeology. The program takes viewers on a journey to the Holy Land with Fox’s religion correspondent Lauren Green, who interviews experts in Biblical scripture and archaeology to reveal the facts, fictions and faith surrounding the birth of Jesus.
Popular Biblical Archaeology Society speakers and authors Jodi Magness, James Charlesworth, N.T. Wright and Aaron Gale are among the interviewed experts on the program, as well as BAS’s own Sarah Yeomans, an archaeologist and director of our educational programs. Join them as they travel to Israel and explore the cities and archaeological sites such as Bethlehem, Nazareth and Herodium that are so central to the lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Join us on an exploration of the Nativity story on Christmas Day at 4:00 PM EST on Fox News Channel. Click here for a sneak peak of “The Nativity: Facts, Fictions and Faith”!
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Archaeologists are fine…but they can’t solve factual discrepencies in the New Testament.
Example of one: Luke have shepherds at the manger,no Wise men present. Matt. has no shepherds, and has wise men visiting a HOUSE in Bethlehem. TheWise men go in the House to give their gifts to Jesus. There is no stable or manger . Should we go by Matt.,which was written earlier than Luke? Both can’t be true. No expert can solve this or other factual discrepencies,but they should at least be mentioned ,and rarely are,by experts or archeaologists.
Why are there so many discrepancies in the Bible old
and new? ??
I think if 2 people hear a story. They will both have a different way of telling the story. These things are not that important. The fact remains there was a baby called Jesus. Who came to earth to die. And because of this we are reconciled back to God.
Del it is easy in Matt he is older he is called a child. In Luke he is called a babe. Wise men come later on. For reason people put the wise men in the nativy it did not happen they came much later
Wasn’t it years after Jesus’ death that anything was recorded? He emerged into a world of many who preached away from the established beliefs. What is the real story and why the folk lore?
Where are the letters Jesus wrote? If he studied in the temple he would have written or transscribed some things. He would have written or possibly kept a journal. He could write as he was educated. Did he write to his mother, disciples, lazarus, anyone? I find it hard to think that Jesus didnt write or have anything dictated…Please check the Vatican lower vaults….
Del, that’s not much of a problem there. The shepherds arrived the night of the birth. Their part of the story is found in Luke. Luke starts out talking about how Jesus birth was foretold and introduces the first witnesses invited by the host of heaven.
Matthew is primarily addressing Jesus as heir to the throne of King David. Chapter 2 begins by saying “Now after Jesus was born…, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who is born king of the Jews?”
Well this was news to then king, Herod. And not good news either. Foreign emissaries arrive asking to see the newborn king of the Jews?
They all consulted the scriptures to find that the birth was prophesied to occur in Bethlehem so Herod sent the wise men there and told them to let him know when they found him so he could “worship him too.”
When they did not come back Herod ordered the killing of every male child in Bethlehem that was two years old or younger, based on the information he had learned from the wise men regarding the time frame of the birth.
So the text in Matthew suggests that Jesus may have been as much as two years. Mary and Joseph plenty of time to find a house before the wise men got there.
There is a common misconception that the purpose of biblical archeology is to “prove” the bible, this is not the case. Archeology illustrates the bible, it does not prove the bible. On rare occasions, such as the discovery of bee hives at Tel Rehov, a verse is illustrated, in this case that Israel is the land of milk and honey. This is the first evidence of an organized honey industry in biblical Israel. The bible is a work of theology. Archeology in the modern sense, is not intended to explain discrepencies in the stories, that is the task of theologians.
The point made that archaeology cannot prove or disprove the gospel stories is correct, as is the point that the wise men came later. Archaeology can tell us all about Bethlehem. What it cannot tell us is historical sources. Historical sources tell us that there was no Roman census requiring Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem. The gospels disagree on whether it was Mary or Joseph who was descended from David. This story was written because early Christians wanted to establish that he was descended from David to tie him in with Messianic prophesies. Most Biblical scholars think he was born in Nazareth where he was raised and where Mary and Joseph lived. Re; the wise men would indeed have come later, but why would Mary and Joseph have still been in Bethlehem so much later? Finally, history tells us all about the murders and misdeeds of Herod, who was a bloodthirsty tyrant. But it says nothing about a slaughter of baby boys. It didn’t happen.
The Romans were already celebrating 25 Dec. as the birthday of one of their gods. They would dress in their best clothes, have a feast and give gifts.