Posted on 12/09/2009 11:40:19 AM PST by BGHater
Is not the church founded upon the Apostles? Eph. 2:20 says it is. Where do we find in the Acts of the Apostles or the epistles where the keeping of Christ’s birthday is a foundational truth for the church. There is no mention of it anywhere. This means, for those who believe that we are supposed to observe it, that they know more than the Apostles. Their authority is greater than the Apostles, in other words.
It is amazing how often academics concentrate on apocryphal works like the Infancy Gospel while neglecting far better sources. The question of when one should celebrate the birth of Jesus is obviously a question related to the development of the liturgical calendar. Where should one turn first if you want to know about liturgy? I’d recommend looking, not at the apocrypha, but at lectionaries. Unfortunately, our earliest surviving lectionary is from the 4th century, and it’s only fragmentary. I suspect, though, it would be a fair enough guess to say that, sometime in the 2nd century (when the list of Saturday and Sunday readings began to be developed) someone selected a time in late December or early January for the readings from the first chapters of Matthew and Luke. While the “new year” is reckoned differently on the Jewish calendar, the start of a new Roman year would have been an appropriate place to begin the cycle of Gospel readings. And once the late December/early January readings about the birth of Christ were fixed, celebrating Christ’s birth near that time was a natural continuation.
The one certain date is John the Baptist’s conception: Elizabeth became pregnant after Luke 1:5
Zacharias’s visitation by Gabriel in the Temple. He served during the Course of Abia, which is a recurring date that occured twice a year, and this was demonstrably his June service, not the December service.
John was ‘6 months in the womb’ when Mary rushed to tell Elizabeth the news of her conception; that makes it December for His conception.
This would make for a late September birth, while there would still be “shepherds in the fields, tending their flocks”.
That would make December 25 the date He arrived to dwell among men, life beginning at Conception; and His presence recognized by John in the womb.
Very good post about why December 25th could have been chosen as Christ's birthday. Another reason could be that it's the correct date. Scripture says shepherds were pasturing their flocks near Bethlehem. To pasture near Bethlehem means it was after the rains had started (November) and there had been a few weeks for the grass to grow.
Also-
The only indigenous breed of sheep in Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, the Awassi Sheep lamb with the new grass (as do nearly all pasture animals). "In... the principal lambing season of Awassi ewes is in ... Israel in December-January."
That is very funny.
You are right.
Homeless was probably not the right word. How about, “not connected” and thus having to get put up where you could. You’d still be in the shed behind the garage if you were in town for the superbowl and didn’t have a reservation.
It was April 6th.
Mary and Joseph were going to Bethlehem to pay their taxes.
Ahhh yes... so they would get there before April 15... LOL...
Exactly....supposed DOB is 29th of September...
If Joseph had more money than he let one, he was a cheap bastard, because he gave the peasant sacrifice (dove) at the ritual sacrifice of Christ’s birth.
(And no, I don’t think he was cheap.)
ApplegateRanch you are on the money.
And the point of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 25, was the point that nailed the Biblical “argument” over when is a person A PERSON with unalienable rights....
God is very loving to us.
If Joseph had more money than he let one, he was a cheap bastard, because he gave the peasant sacrifice (dove) at the ritual sacrifice of Christ’s birth.
Ummmm..., wasn't that after he paid his taxes... LOL...
:’)
Thanks. Very interesting. Do you mean to infer that pasture grazing is necessarily done during lambing?
Excellent, excellent point. It needs to be treated as a liturgical question as well as a historical one.
Do you know if the text of that 4th century lectionary is online anywhere? We have a 4th century martyrology, and Christmas is on it.
Thanks for posting. This is one of the best articles on the topic I’ve read.
What you say is correct. I usually post this to the thread, but it is kind of long so I'll just link it.
Yes, since lambing is done during the time of the best grazing (when the grass is new) due to the nutritional requirements of lactating. When I looked into the rainy season around Jerusalem/Bethlehem and found it started in November, it was easy to infer that shepherds would be in the area in December and that it would be lambing season.
Birth.
Merry Christmas!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.