Thoughts on Christmas

by Bill Creasy

Rev. H. B. London said, "I don't want to be too simplistic, but our faith is somewhat childlike. Though other people may question the historical validity of the virgin birth, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we don't." London is a vice president of James Dobson's conservative Focus on the Family organization in Colorado Springs. [from Newsweek, "The Birth of Jesus," by Jon Meacham, Dec. 13, 2004, p. 51.]

Most humanists don't object to the holiday of Christmas as it celebrates the winter solstice, the joy of giving, the enjoyment of the company of family and friends, and the celebration of new life. We enjoy getting together with family and exchanging presents as much as theists. The Baltimore Secular Humanists often has holiday lunchs or dinners.

We do question the historical accuracy of the virgin birth and other Biblical myths. The Baltimore Secular Humanists often have discussion meetings in which we consider parts of the Bible. However, we study it as a literary and religious work, not as a historical document. It is very easy to find self-contradictions in the events that are depicted in the stories of the Bible.

One interesting issue is the parentage of Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke depict stories about the nativity of Jesus, although the stories are significantly different. Both say that Jesus was concieved by the Holy Spirit without sexual contact between his mother, the virgin Mary, and a man. But Matthew says that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus had to flee to Egypt when King Herod ordered all children under age two to be murdered. There isn't an independent historical record of this massacre. Matthew also has the story of the three wise men who followed the star to Jesus. In contrast, Luke doesn't have these stories, but tells of angels appearing to shepherds.

The Gospel of John, on the other hand, doesn't tell a story about Jesus's conception and birth. He does make several comments that indicate that there was some controvery about Jesus's parentage during his life. The people that Jesus spoke to clearly expected that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the ancestral home of King David, even though Jesus never told them that he had been born there. A priest said to Jesus, "We were not born out of wedlock--our true father is God himself." [John 9:41, translation from The Living Bible]. This quote clearly indicates that the priest was accusing Jesus of being illegitimate. Jesus doesn't contradict the priest, or tell him that he was the product of a virgin birth. Instead, Jesus accuses the priests of being sons of the devil because they wouldn't listen to him. (Of course, a fundamentalist would point out that there is no question that Jesus was born out of wedlock, since his earthly parents weren't married.)

It can be very interesting and entertaining to look for these problems with the Biblical stories. But the more of them that one finds, the harder it is to think that the Bible is historically accurate.