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Totally agree with what you posted, well almost, I'll get with you about that in a minute.
I've been reading this information for about 30 years now, you would think by now this information would be common knowledge especially since the redateing of when they thought King Herod died. The fact that it hasn't become common knowledge is proof that the Dec 25th date is still promoted mainly because the big God of the cultural Christianity and Humanism is
"...........TRADITION..........."
TRADITION is so big it rolls it's eye at any proof that Jesus was born any other day then the Dec 25th day and ignores any other proof because people really don't care about details. People would rather stick with the TRADITION of the Dec 25th date because to do so would require them to study the Bible for specific details instead of speed reading it every year, and/or study history, and/or study astronomy which is boring. They would rather believe that God created a bright star out of no where instead of God ordaining the arrangement of the stars and planets before the beginning of time(the doctrine of ordination and predestination) because it is hard for them to preceive the idea that God actually had a plan before the beginning of time, before he created heaven and earth, and before he created Adam and Eve. They would rather believe that God creates history as he goes along or after he created the heavens and the earth, and Adam and Eve. Well anyway I've gotten off on a tangent now and need to end this part of my comment.
To get back to where I disagree with you somewhat, I've heard various dates on when Jesus was born from the same time period. I've seen dates from Aug 19th 3BC to Sept 11 3BC. I haven't study it in detail as to narrow it down beyond that. I kind of believe that eventually there will be a consensus among Christians that study astrology, and they will narrow it down even further then the various dates they say it happened.

Yeah but in defense of “TRADITION”, previous generations of Christians had access to the exact same Biblical text as you do. They also had a closer cultural context to the writers and sources of history that have since been lost.

Chrysostom in the mid-300s says that the Roman Church celebrated the birth on Dec. 25th “anothen”....”from the beginning” and that the date came from the census records which could still be checked in his time. Hippolytus witing around 200 seems to back him up about Dec. 25. These two men were reading the same Bible you are...except they read and wrote the original Greek natively.

You and I are at a decided disadvantage compared to them chronologically and linguistically. This is why some of us insist on maintaining TRADITION.

>Totally agree with what you posted, well almost

Thanks for the supportive comments. I conducted an intense investigation in the 90s of the Star of Bethlehem and the date of the Crucifixion and came to the same conclusions (independently) as another investigator, Frederick Larson. Larson published his findings here, http://www.bethlehemstar.com. I was very busy with work at the time, publishing as a research physicist.

September 11, 3 BC, may be a better date for the Conception but the comparison to Revelation 12 is stunning. On June 17, 2 BC, Venus and Jupiter would have appeared as one star in the night sky. That event and the triple conjuction of Jupiter over Regulus in Leo, would have been a significant motivator to scholars of astrological events. The wise men from the East were most likely astrologers, possibly from Babylon where the study of the movements of the planets, moon, sun and stars became a refined and sytematic practice. The recent evidence that Herod died in 1 BC puts everything in its proper palce.

It seems highly likely that this celestial dance in the sky was God’s orchestration of the most significant event in history, the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus rightly divided the Word of truth by reading from Isaiah 61:2, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The rest of the verse “and the day of vengeance of our God” is an event that is yet to be realized. In between is the age of grace, the Great Mystery hidden in ages past but revealed to us, Christ in us the hope of glory, until the time of the gentiles is fullfilled. Then the end of days will come with signs in heaven and on earth, so that those who stay watchful will not be caught unaware (Mathhew 24).

Happy New Year everybody and may God bless and keep you. Continue to study to be approved of God, having faith that Jesus is the Christ, which is pleasing to God. God is Good and he rewards those who dilligently seek him. “Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.” Daniel 12:10