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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 24th, 2009 at 12:59 PM and filed under Religion. Follow comments here with the RSS 2.0 feed. Skip to the end and leave a response. Trackbacks are closed.

One Response to “AlterNet: Christian Story of Jesus’s Birth Is a Myth Born of Politics”

1. Ian Alterman said:

   Actually, I will go MUCH further than this, and state that the “accepted” “Christian” story of Jesus’ birth is, in fact, wrong, and amounts to the subsuming of Jesus’ birth into a pagan celebration. Here is a piece I wrote some time ago, and send out to my faith-based friends each year:

   How Christian is “Christmas?”

   Setting aside the crass commercialism and consumerism of what we know as “Christmas” (and how Jesus might view that aspect of the holiday…), there is some real question as to just how Christian “Christmas” really is. I offer the following in this regard.

   Jesus’ birth.

   Although all of us are familiar with the events surrounding Jesus’ birth as provided in the Gospel of Luke, little or nothing is known about the timing of those events – and we certainly have no clear record of when Jesus was actually born. However, there are a few facts and Scriptural passages that give us some idea of when it might have been – and when it might not have been.

   The most salient single “fact” comes to us from the historian Josephus. Josephus indicates that John the Baptist was born in the Spring, most probably March or April. And we know from the nativity story in Luke that John was almost exactly six months older than Jesus, as Gabriel tells Mary at the time of her inception: “Now, indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son…and [she] is now in the sixth month…” (Luke 1:36). Thus, if John was born in March or April, Jesus would have been born in September or October – not December. [N.B. There is a reverse interpretation of this as well; i.e., that John was born in September or October, and Jesus was born in March or April. However, that would actually strengthen the case I am making here.]

   There are other indications that Jesus was not born in December. In Luke’s nativity story, we are told that “…there were in the same country [i.e., near Bethlehem] shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.” (Luke 2:8). It is highly unlikely that shepherds would be “living in the fields” watching flocks “by night” in December; they are more likely to have been doing this in the still-warm month of September, or even early October. There is certainly no indication that it was cold, much less snowing.

   Thus, while we have no solid evidence of the exact date of Jesus’ birth, what evidence we DO have points to an early Fall (or, by the alternative interpretation, mid-Spring) birth – NOT a late-year birth.

   A Brief History of “Christmas.”

   According to both secular and religious scholars, Christmas developed from the Roman holiday of “Saturnalia” (which honors the pagan god, Saturn), which was celebrated from mid-December through January 1st. The following is quoted from just one of hundreds of websites that address this:

   “Saturnalia was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians thought it an abomination to honor the pagan god…As Christianity spread, they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs…At first the church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail. Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian Son of God…The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights and gifts from the Saturnalia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas…In 350 A.D….Julius I [Bishop of Rome], chose December 25th as the observance of Christmas.”

   Christians are reminded over and over (mostly in the Old Testament) “not to do as the pagans [or heathens] do.” Yet Christians have apparently happily subsumed the celebration of the birth of their Savior into a pagan festival!

   The “Christmas” Tree

   Jeremiah 10:2-4: “Learn not the ways of the heathen…For the customs of the people are vain. For one cutteth a tree out of the forest…They deck it with silver and with gold, and they fasten it with nails and hammers, that it move not.” Cutting down a tree, fastening it so it doesn’t move, adorning it with silver and gold. Sound familiar? This is the earliest Scriptural record we have of what became the “Christmas tree.” And, again, it is a “heathen” (i.e., pagan) practice.

   A Brief History of St. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus aka Kris Kringle)

   Contrary to the reference to “gifts” in the website quotation above, the actual conscious practice of gift-giving did not stem from the pagan holiday of Saturnalia, but from a separate source: the holiday figure we know as “Santa Claus.”

   “Santa Claus” is derived from a real-life priest called St. Nicholas, a member of a wealthy Turkish family, in about 300 A.D. From Bozeman’s “Brief History of Santa Claus”:

   “Many stories are told of his generosity, as he gave his wealth away in the form of gifts to those in need, especially children. Legends tell of him dropping bags of gold down chimneys or throwing the bags through the windows where they landed in stockings hung near the fireplace to dry…Some years later, Nicholas became a Bishop; hence the long-flowing gown, white beard and red cape…Eventually [after his death], the Catholic Church started celebrating Christmas, and St. Nicholas was incorporated into the season…When the reformation took place, the new Protestants no longer desired St. Nicholas as their “gift-giver,” as he was too closely associated with the Catholic Church. Therefore, each country or region developed its own gift-giver. In France, he was known as Pere Noel. In England, he was Father Christmas…To the Dutch, he was Sinterklass, which eventually…became “Santa Claus.”

   “Others called him Kris Kringle, a name most likely derived from “Christ Kindl” (Christ-child).” (Jeff deLuzio’s “Santa Claus: A History”).

   A Brief History of Christmas Carols

   From “Looking at the History of Carols”: “The early Christian compositions are regarded as chants and hymns. The original carols referred to a circle dance which did not have any singing – that came later. As the church struggled against the influences of pagan customs, the singing of carols was barred from sacred services…St. Francis of Assisi is credited with bringing carols into the formal worship of the church during a Christmas Midnight Mass in a cave in Greccio, in the province of Umbria, in 1223…The music sung that night was more akin to what we know as carols than to hymns.”

   Note also that the vast majority of the most popular Christmas carols sung today derive from the words and music of writers and composers from the 16th to the mid-19th centuries, and were introduced by the Protestant Church less than 200 years ago.

   Summary

   Jesus was almost certainly not born in December: even the church admits that the December celebration of His birth is the subsuming of a Christian celebration into a pagan festival. The “Christmas tree” is a “heathen” practice. Gift-giving during the holiday season has nothing to do with Jesus, but with St. Nicholas. “Christmas Carols” are a recent introduction into the already arguably pagan-derived celebration of Christmas, and were also a pagan custom “struggled against” by the early church.

   I have heard both sides of this debate. On the one hand, some claim that anything that brings people closer to Christ is okay. On the other hand, some claim that it was only due to the “weakness” of the church that it “gave in” and permitted the celebration of Jesus’ birth to be subsumed into a pagan holiday, and that it remains pagan.

   I am led to side with the latter. In asking myself the question “What would Jesus do?,” I feel strongly led to believe that He would not support the celebration of a pagan festival under any guise or rubric (much less in His name!). Indeed, given that there is not a single mention of His birthday in the entire N.T. (other than the circumstances surrounding His birth), one can only assume it did not mean very much either to Him or to the disciples, or it would certainly have been noted. But we can almost certainly assume it would mean something to Him that Christians have allowed themselves to be “gulled” into celebrating a pagan festival, even if they do not see it that way.

   As for “anything that brings people to Christ is okay,” I can only say that my understanding of Christianity does not permit us to use “negative” means to achieve positive ends. That is, while it is true as Paul tells us that “All things work together for good for those who love God,” this does not mean we can consciously do “un-Christian” things and assume that they will turn out “good.”

   Is there an alternative? Should we choose an arbitrary date in late September/early October and “transfer” the holiday there? Should we celebrate a “gift-giving” holiday in December, but “take Christ out of ‘Christmas’?” Should we be “scrooges” and stop celebrating at all, especially since Jesus apparently didn’t care enough about His birthday even to mention it?

   I don’t have the answers, nor do I pretend to. However, for all the reasons given above, I do not celebrate Christmas – i.e., give gifts, go caroling, attend “Christmas” services, etc. Some consider me a “scrooge” for my decision. And I may very well be incorrect in my interpretation.

   However, I have to consider what I believe my Lord and Savior would think, say and/or do in this regard. And I am led to believe strongly that, while He would be pleased at our wish to give Him our praise, we should be doing so every day, and not just on one particular day – especially one that is at best fraught with possible apostasy, and at worst a direct “affront” to Him, in as much as we are essentially celebrating a pagan holiday in His name.

   Peace.

   Posted on 25-Dec-09 at 8:33 am | Permalink