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Was Jesus born on December 25?

A

Anonymous

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http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/was-jesus-born-on-december-25-faq.htm

Was Jesus born on December 25?

Was Jesus born on December 25? There is no evidence for this date. So then, who decided that Jesus' birth would be celebrated on that date? The early Christian church did not celebrate Jesus' birth. It wasn't until A.D. 440 that the church officially proclaimed December 25 as the birth of Christ. This was not based on any religious evidence but on a pagan feast. Saturnalia was a tradition inherited by the Roman pagans from an earlier Babylonian priesthood. December 25 was used as a celebration of the birthday of the sun god. It was observed near the winter solstice.

The apostles in the Bible predicted that some Christians would adopt pagan beliefs to enable them to make their religion more palatable to the pagans around them. Therefore, some scholars think the church chose the date of this pagan celebration to interest them in Christianity. The pagans were already used to celebrating on this date.

The Bible itself tells us that December 25 is an unlikely date for His birth. Palestine is very cold in December. It was much too cold to ask everyone to travel to the city of their fathers to register for taxes. Also the shepherds were in the fields (Luke 2:8-12). Shepherds were not in the fields in the winter time. They are in the fields early in March until early October. This would place Jesus' birth in the spring or early fall. It is also known that Jesus lived for 33.5 years and died at the feast of the Passover, which is at Easter time. He must therefore have been born six months the other side of Easter - making the date around the September/October time frames.

Other evidence that December 25 is the wrong date for the birth of Jesus comes from early writings. Iranaeus, born about a century after Jesus, notes that Jesus was born in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus. Since Augustus began his reign in the autumn of 43 B.C., this appears to substantiate the birth of Jesus as the autumn of 2 B.C. Eusebius (A.D. 264-340), the "Father of Church History," ascribes it to the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus and the 28th from the subjection of Egypt on the death of Anthony and Cleopatra. The 42nd year of Augustus ran from the autumn of 2 B.C. to the autumn of 1 B.C. The subjugation of Egypt into the Roman Empire occurred in the autumn of 30 B.C. The 28th year extended from the autumn of 3 B.C. to the autumn of 2 B.C. The only date that would meet both of these constraints would be the autumn of 2 B.C.

John the Baptist also helps us determine that December 25 is not the birth of Jesus. Elizabeth, John's mother, was a cousin of Mary. John began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. The minimum age for the ministry was 30. As Augustus died on August 19, A.D. 14, that was the accession year for Tiberius. If John was born on April 19-20, 2 B.C., his 30th birthday would have been April 19-20, A.D. 29, or the 15th year of Tiberius. This seems to confirm the 2 B.C. date, and, since John was 5 months older, this also confirms an autumn birth date for Jesus.

Another interesting fact comes from Elizabeth herself. She hid herself for 5 months and then the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary both Elizabeth's condition and that Mary would also bear a son who would be called Jesus. Mary went "with haste" to visit Elizabeth, who was then in the first week of her 6th month, or the 4th week of Dec., 3 B.C. If Jesus was born 280 days later it would place his birth on Sept. 29, 2 B.C. Some scholars interpret the 6 months to be in line with the Hebrew calendar or the August-September time frame. Since Mary's pregnancy commenced a little before the sixth month around July, Jesus would be born somewhere around March-June. But does it matter if Jesus was born on the spring, the fall, or on December 25? Does it matter, theologically, when Jesus was born? What do you think, does it matter what day we celebrate His birth?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
but, before you start, i am a Christian and believe in Christ. it does not matter when he was born as what matters is he lived and still does in our hearts. Irregardless of how I feel about the facts you cannot understand yet, i wish each of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
 

Steve

Well-known member
Most Christians can understand the difference between the teachings of the bible and the teachings of the church.. sometimes the church is not correct..

but like any debate, one must ask if it is to learn or to challenge your position..

with you I am not sure..

I would not insult a child and tell them there is no Santa, and they are celebrating for no reason...

with the same thought, I would not challenge a faith on its celebrations, unless they are harmful..

I wished my Jewish friends "Happy Hanukkah" as they enjoyed and celebrated Hanukkah, as well as wishing a close friend, ‘Eid Sa‘eed ("Happy Eid"),. nor would I invite a devout Hindi friend to have a grilled steak,, it is just respectful..

I also would not ask them to explain their religious festivity at the time when they are celebrating it's meaning and their faith.. as that questioning could easily be seen as insulting..

in other words... I understand my friends faith by talking to them about what makes them faithful, and that often leads to them teaching me about their festivals...

I could easily engage any of them in a heated discussion because they know I respect them.. even if I question their faith..

I would say if you have a problem with your church's teachings take it up with your church... and not try to distract from the real meaning of Christmas..


merrychristmas.gif



Christmas is a holiday observed generally on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus,
 

Martin Jr.

Well-known member
I don't think it was ever claimed that Dec 25 was the date Jesus was born.
The Jewish celebrated their holidays on a year round method, and the Christians adopted this also, celebrating the events in chronological order: the beginning, Advent; the coming of the Messiah, then the birth of Jesus, etc. and then the death and ressurection, (coming near passover) and in the fall the end times.
So it was fitting that the birth be before Easter, and the beginning of a new year, or the lenghtening of the days, is a fitting time for Jesus Birth.

It was probably set to coincide with a pagan celebration not to attract pagans, but to keep Christians from celebrating pagan holidays.

If it was to attract pagans to the Christian religion, that would not make much sense, as people attracted to Christianity just to have someone to celebrate with are like the seed that fell on rocky ground, their roots will soon die.
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
Does the exact date matter?? As long as we set aside one day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ . December 25 is fine with me.

http://theroadtoemmaus.org/RdLb/31JdXn/Christnty/SpLf/ChYr/ChristmDat.htm
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
It doesn't matter a hill of beans. Actually, his birth isn't that big of a deal. Everybody has a birthday, but not many have a resurrection day, and THAT is the glory of Christ.
 

Tam

Well-known member
shaumei said:
but, before you start, i am a Christian and believe in Christ. it does not matter when he was born as what matters is he lived and still does in our hearts. Irregardless of how I feel about the facts you cannot understand yet, i wish each of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I have to ask, do you feel a need to question everything in your life? Can you not just leave Christmas alone? :roll:

Irregardless of how I and the other 99.993% feel about the facts you and your 1300 Architects, engineers, pilot, politicans and etc. cannot understand yet, I wish you a Merry Christmas on DEC 25th when it has always been celebrated and a Happy New Year on JAN 1st. That is when New Years is isn't it? Or have you come up with some conspiracy that says otherwise? :roll:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Tam said:
shaumei said:
but, before you start, i am a Christian and believe in Christ. it does not matter when he was born as what matters is he lived and still does in our hearts. Irregardless of how I feel about the facts you cannot understand yet, i wish each of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I have to ask, do you feel a need to question everything in your life? Can you not just leave Christmas alone? :roll:

Irregardless of how I and the other 99.993% feel about the facts you and your 1300 Architects, engineers, pilot, politicans and etc. cannot understand yet, I wish you a Merry Christmas on DEC 25th when it has always been celebrated and a Happy New Year on JAN 1st. That is when New Years is isn't it? Or have you come up with some conspiracy that says otherwise? :roll:

you are right, jan 1 is new years! Happy New Year!
 

Whitewing

Well-known member
shaumei said:
but, before you start, i am a Christian and believe in Christ. it does not matter when he was born as what matters is he lived and still does in our hearts. Irregardless of how I feel about the facts you cannot understand yet, i wish each of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

*irregardless :lol:
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
shaumei said:
Tam said:
shaumei said:
but, before you start, i am a Christian and believe in Christ. it does not matter when he was born as what matters is he lived and still does in our hearts. Irregardless of how I feel about the facts you cannot understand yet, i wish each of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I have to ask, do you feel a need to question everything in your life? Can you not just leave Christmas alone? :roll:

Irregardless of how I and the other 99.993% feel about the facts you and your 1300 Architects, engineers, pilot, politicans and etc. cannot understand yet, I wish you a Merry Christmas on DEC 25th when it has always been celebrated and a Happy New Year on JAN 1st. That is when New Years is isn't it? Or have you come up with some conspiracy that says otherwise? :roll:

you are right, jan 1 is new years! Happy New Year!

But only if you use the Gregorian calendar aka "Christian Calendar", which begins with the birth of JESUS CHRIST.
 

Soapweed

Well-known member
Whitewing said:
shaumei said:
but, before you start, i am a Christian and believe in Christ. it does not matter when he was born as what matters is he lived and still does in our hearts. Irregardless of how I feel about the facts you cannot understand yet, i wish each of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

*irregardless :lol:

That's eerie, regardless. :wink:
 
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