Comments on: Christmas Stories in Christian Apocrypha

By: James Adrian van Wyk

James Adrian van Wyk — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 19:47:58 +0000

I think it can be judged as much by what is not said as what is.. Joseph and Mary are told there was no room at the inn. Next they are in a stable. The shepherds were not told to look for Jesus in either a cave or an animal shelter out side of Bethlehem. They were told Bethlehem. This, to me, only makes sense if the stable was the stable, of the inn, under the sleeping room(s). This also makes sense architecturally, as the inn would be like a large Isreal type house, with a court yard (possibly light roofed), a stable on one side and storage on the other, with a kitchen and food storage room in back. Above the stable (to benefit from the heat of the animals) is/are the sleeping room(s). The sleeping section was full (no room), so Joseph and Mary stayed in the stable.

By: Helen Spalding

Helen Spalding — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 19:35:00 +0000

No, Del. Our eternal enemy, the Satan, is totally responsible for the murder of Jews in the Holocaust and every other pogrom.

Jesus is Jewish through and through. Some may seek to use John’s Gospel, which has no birth narrative, as their excuse. John uses the term “Jews” when he is referring to the Jewish religious authorities of the day who were terribly corrupt by all accounts. John uses “Jews” the way some folks use the term “Americans” when they mean the US gov’t.

A real Christian cannot be anti-Semitic. We owe our lives to Jesus, the Jew and are bound to the God of Israel as adoptees.

By: Helen Spalding

Helen Spalding — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 19:28:40 +0000

The article is abt the Apocrypha that developed surrounding Jesus’ birth and ministry. There were a number of extra-Biblical works in the first few centuries of Christianity which circulated in the nascent churches.

The Apocrypha to which you refer is the OT Deuterocanonicals. They have been included in the Bibles of the Catholic denominations since they were in the Septuagint that Paul and others quote in the New Testament. In fact, it’s the Septuagint that translates Isaiah’s “young woman” who bears a son to a “virgin” who bears a son. It is fm the Septuagint that we get the “virgin birth” prophecy for Jesus. There are some very powerful wisdom teachings contained in these books betw the testaments. You might want to give them a serious read.

The Jewish Masoretes decided to exclude them fm their Jewish canon since they were not extant in Hebrew. Even portions of Daniel and Esther are extant only in Aramaic. If the book was extant only in Greek, it was automatically excluded fm the Jewish canon. Luther followed the Jewish tradition and parked them betw the testaments or at the very end.

A further group of books is known as the Pseudepigrapha. These books have some wildly entertaining stories within fm the era. Nobody uses them as authoritative for life though.

By: John

John — Sun, 17 Dec 2017 08:20:36 +0000

Of course quoting from the Apocrypha does not mean a thing…….as it is not part of God’s Word and in some cases at odds with what is said in the recognised books of the Bible canon or spurious……….this is why they are called the Apocrypha ………they may have some very limited historical value in the time of the Maccabees………..but PLEASE do not try to justify or explain anything by means of
this collection of books.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:46:31 +0000

In reply to Avinoam Ben Dor. BTW, as to Mary riding a donkey, I was riding an airboat when I was 6 months pregnant... :)

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:43:56 +0000

In reply to Avinoam Ben Dor. Google says it's 157.1 km. True that Bethlehem of Galilee is only 10 km from Jerusalem but even though it was in existence during the middle ages, it was not founded until 1948 as a moshav. Perhaps since it took awhile to get there, they started early. As to traveling by donkey, probably better than walking that distance. Also, the star was shining brightly and the Magi were in Jerusalem only 9 km from Bethlehem inquiring to the Messiah's location.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 05:32:07 +0000

If Mary wasn’t 100% human making Yeshua 100% human & 100% deity from His Father then He isn’t the Messiah & we have to wait for another. Mary (or Miriam) has to all human & the text says, “Joseph knew her not until after Yeshua was born, but eventually he did “know” her in the Biblical sense because Yeshua had brothers & at least one sister.

By: Bruce Boone

Bruce Boone — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 19:09:35 +0000

I sure you know more about the birth of Christian anti-semitism than I do (personally I think more of the generally quite anti-Semitic tone of the gospel of John). It might be instructive for many of us to know what more exactly you are referencing in the Nativity accounts, to know what details you want to put into question.

By: Avinoam Ben Dor

Avinoam Ben Dor — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 15:44:08 +0000

Was Yeshua born in Bethlehem of Judea or Bethlehem of Galilee?

Do you think that a pregnant woman about to give birth would travel by donkey all the way from Nazareth through the Jordan valley ascending the Judean mountains from Jerico to reach Bethlehem of Judea via Jerusalem?

Bethlehem of Galilee is only 10 km from Nazareth.

By: Del cain

Del cain — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 23:53:34 +0000

It might be good to note these fictional stories were the foundation for 2,000 years of anti-semitism and killing of Jews,and are not just innocent ,creative lies.