Posted on 11/21/2012 8:45:16 AM PST by Perdogg
The 'mistake' was made by a sixth century monk known as Dionysius Exiguus or in English Dennis the Small, the 85-year-old pontiff claims in the book 'Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives', published on Wednesday.
"The calculation of the beginning of our calendar – based on the birth of Jesus – was made by Dionysius Exiguus, who made a mistake in his calculations by several years," the Pope writes in the book, which went on sale around the world with an initial print run of a million copies.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
The more fundamental point is that God did not intend us to mark His years by the birth of Jesus.
If He had intended this we would have a Biblical fixing of the date.
Further, the day of Jesus' birth is unremarkable as all men are born.
However, very few return from the dead, that event is remarkable, and it is the defining moment of Christianity, the very moment of proof that his sacrifice was not in vain. And the Bible gives a precise reference for when this happened!
Clearly this was the date the calendar was supposed to start!
For extra points, this makes our calendar off by anywhere from 17 to 30 years. That makes this something like Holy Year 1982 to Holy Year 1995, giving us anywhere from 5 to 18 years to get our affairs in order before the real end of the millennium...
Yeah, I'm pretty close to being able to collect social security.
Because atheists who attack the authenticity of the Scriptures point out that Herod did not rule in 1 A.D. and use this to claim that the Gospels are wrong.
The Pope is pointing out that it was a calendarist who miscalculated, and not that the Evangelists lied.
Why Sukkot? Why 3999 and not 4000?, why do some sources say 3998?
Why the first day of the civil year rather than the first day of the ecclesiastical year?
bkmk
I would suggest that an allegiance to the truth trumps the expediency that you’ve outlined.
That would include you, since you're quite obviously not one of the sharpened pencils in the drawer.
Clearly this was the date the calendar was supposed to start!
I had never thought about that, but I like the idea. It makes a lot of sense.
No, but I’m pretty sure it means I was actually born in the 1970’s. ;)
I still maintain that the one Biblically fixed date, the one that is explicitly stated, the one that doesn't require a digital orrery to fix, is the Resurrection.
I also believe that this is the defining moment of Christianity, and that the Christian calendar should start on the first Easter morning.
That is, of course if one insists on not using the calendar that was good enough for Jesus himself to use!
Just a wild guess, but could it be because "God tabernacled with men"? (John 1:14)
Did you not vote for Romney ‘cause he just wasn’t conservative enough ?
By celebrating false dates, we lose one more touch with the miraculous timing which then allows doubts to grow of God or Yeshua's existence.
It drives anyone with a brain away from learning more as soon as they realize Christians can't even count to three! :)
There never was a “Palestine” for Herod to rule.
It’s “Israel”.
Always.
This means, as I’ve thought previously, that the year is actually 2015, and proves the Mayan calendar depicting the end of the world is wrong. December 2012 passed three years ago.
A former fetus should recognize that we would be better served starting our calendar (and making it a big religious event) with the Annunciation. This is when God came to be one of us. His birth, sacrifice and resurrection all follow from his Incarnation, which happened in the womb.
Ah! That makes sense!
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.