Myth-Conceptions About Christmas by William Welty, Ph.D. Director, the ISV Foundation Copyright © 2010 William P. Welty, Ph.D. Distributed by Davidson

Myth-Conceptions Myth-Conceptions About ChristmasAbout Christmas

byWilliam Welty, Ph.D.

Director, the ISV Foundation

Copyright © 2010 William P. Welty, Ph.D. Distributed by Davidson Press, LLC.

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Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Introduction About the Wise Men The Visit to

Bethlehem What about the Star? The Manger Scene

The Livestock Why There Was No

Room at the Inn Bethlehem vs.

Nazareth What Must I Do to be

Saved?


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IntroductionIntroduction

Non-historical “facts” abound about the first Christmas.

The story itself is amazing enough.

Embellishments don’t need to be added “after the fact.”


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About the Wise MenAbout the Wise Men

There weren’t necessarily three of them. Nobody knows their names. One of them wasn’t black. They weren’t astrologers, or even

astronomers, for that matter. They never joined the shepherds in

worshiping the Christ-child.


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They never visited Bethlehem when Mary and Joseph were in a stable…

Even IF there WAS a stable. Astronomers’ guesses about a rare

conjunction of planets have nothing to do with the star of Bethlehem.

The star never guided the Wise Men to Bethlehem anyway.


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The star led the Wise Men “from the East.” The star led the Wise Men to Jerusalem,

where they met with Herod. The Wise Men then went from Jerusalem to

Bethlehem.


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They were godly Jewish believers from Babylon or Susa.

The Old Testament tells the stories of men and women like them.– Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-nego– Nehemiah– Esther– Daniel and friends were referred to as “Magi”

Copyright © 2010 William P. Welty, Ph.D. Distributed by Davidson Press, LLC. 10

– Jerusalem and Bethlehem lay to the west and south of Babylon.

– If the star had gone before them as a guiding light, the star would have had to travel ahead of them… first to the north, then to the west, and then finally south.

The Wise Men could not have been guided by a star that was only visible in the east.



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“Three men” comes from the three gifts.– Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh (a burial spice)

Three foreign king makers would not have been noticed.

The entourage may have included over 100 people, including security forces.

The gifts given represented phenomenal wealth.

The Visit to BethlehemThe Visit to Bethlehem


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Preparation and travel time took two years.– The Magi told Herod they saw the star two

years before.– That’s why they went to Jerusalem first; he

would have been long gone when they arrived.– But they were guided to Bethlehem,– That’s why Herod killed all the children two

years old and under.– They should have followed what they knew.



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The Magi visited much later than the first night.– Jesus was placed in a manger. (Luke 2:7) She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a

manger, because there was not any room for them in the inn.

– But the Magi visited him in a house. After they went into the house and saw the child with

his mother Mary, they fell down and worshiped him…


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The text never claims that Christ was born in a stable.

Luke says the baby Jesus was laid in a “feeding trough” (ISV) by his mother.

But the text doesn’t say the “feeding trough” was inside a stable.

The Magi never asked where the Christ child was born. They already knew.




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But Herod didn’t know the birthplace. That’s why he did the asking.

The Wise Men didn’t visit the night of the birth because Luke says Mary and Joseph paid the mother’s Levitical sin offering with the smallest offering allowed—turtledoves.

That’s all they could afford, even 30 days after the birth. They would have paid with gold, if they had received it from the Magi.



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Mary, Joseph and Jesus left for Egypt the very night the Magi visited them. (Matt 2:12-13)

If the Magi had visited him immediately upon his birth, they would have had no time to dedicate him on the eighth day, as Luke 2:21 describes.

There would have been no time for the 30 day post-natal purification rite.



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What about the Star?What about the Star?

It wasn’t a natural phenomenon. Luke knew the difference between a planet

and a phenomenon in the atmosphere.– It moved with respect to the observers.– Stars appear fixed with respect to the observers.– Luke uses aster, not asterion.

The “star” was the Shekinah of God. Its parallel cannot be found in astronomy.


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The Manger SceneThe Manger Scene

There were no livestock. None is mentioned. There was no stable. None is mentioned. There was a manger, but it was probably a

public feeding trough. The manger was made of stone, not wood. There were no oxen. There was no donkey, as there is no mention

of Mary riding one into Bethlehem.


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The swaddling clothes came from Mary’s robes.

She had no mid-wife or relatives to assist. Joseph is not recorded as even being

present. Not one word of Joseph is ever recorded. Joseph disappears after Jesus’ 12th year.


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Joseph was not the father of Jesus.– Jesus would have had no legal right to David’s

throne if Joseph had been his father.

Joseph died while Jesus was a teenager. Mary became a single parent before she was

30 years of age. Mary probably had her own catering

business. She was in charge at Cana.


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The LivestockThe Livestock

The livestock, if any, were sheep. Sheep at that time of year were in the fields. Jesus was born in the spring, not the winter.

– Sheep are not put out to pasture in the winter.– Gabriel spoke to Mary in the sixth month of the

year (Luke 1:26) which was also the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. (Luke 1:36)

– Jesus was born by the following Passover.


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Why There Was No Room at the InnWhy There Was No Room at the Inn

The shepherds’ flocks were being kept for the Passover.

Millions of people took all the available rooms in Jerusalem and the vicinity before Mary and Joseph arrived.

Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because the Romans would have forced them to do so.


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God used the whim of Augustus Caesar to inconvenience the entire world with a census to get Mary and Joseph to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

They had no living relatives in Bethlehem. They had no one to stay with. God had cursed David’s lineage through

Solomon. (Jeremiah 22:24-30)


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Joseph was of the lineage of David through Solomon. (Matthew 1:6, 11)

Mary was of the lineage of David through Nathan, not Solomon. (Luke 3:31)

But so few members of David’s lineage had survived through the exile that no family members in Bethlehem could be found.


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Bethlehem vs. NazarethBethlehem vs. Nazareth

Bethlehem was not their first choice. They tried to go back to Nazareth first.

(Luke 2:39) Within two years, they were back at

Bethlehem in a house where they would eventually meet the Magi. (Matt. 2:11)

All their friends lived in Nazareth.


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But they did not stay in Nazareth due to the scandal of Mary’s pregnancy.– Luke records the scandal. (Luke 3:23)– The Pharisees used it. (John 8:41)– It was probably common knowledge at the time

around Nazareth.

It would have been very uncomfortable for Mary and Joseph in Nazareth.


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But in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph would have been small town heroes.– The shepherds’ story of angels was known.– The prophetic message of Simeon (Luke 2:25-

35) and Anna (Luke 2:38) had been told.

Mary and Joseph probably moved back to Bethlehem to escape the gossip from Nazareth.

What Must I DoWhat Must I Doto Be Saved?to Be Saved?


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You Have Broken God’s LawYou Have Broken God’s Law

Worship only God. Don’t make an idol. Don’t take God’s

name in vain. Honor the Sabbath. Honor your father and

mother.

Do not murder. Do not commit

adultery. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not covet.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)


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mother.





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mother.





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mother.





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mother.





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mother.





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mother.





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mother.





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You Were Born a SinnerYou Were Born a Sinner

All people are born sinners. We are all unrighteous people. – Romans 3:10-12

• As it is written, “Not even one person is righteous. No one understands. No one searches for God. All have turned away. Together they have become worthless.”


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Your Best Efforts FailYour Best Efforts Fail

All people sin. Our best efforts will never measure up. – Romans 3:23

• … since all have sinned and continue to fall short of God’s glory.


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The Price of Sin is DeathThe Price of Sin is Death

The price of sin is death. – Romans 5:12

• Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to everyone, because all have sinned.


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Jesus Paid Your DebtJesus Paid Your Debt

Jesus paid your debt by dying in your place. – Romans 6:23

• For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.


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Christ Died for YouChrist Died for You

Christ died in your place, paying your price, and suffering so that you would not have to suffer eternally. – Romans 5:8

• But God demonstrates his love for us by the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.


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His Invitation Is to You… NowHis Invitation Is to You… Now

His invitation is open to anyone… even you. – Romans 10:13

• For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”


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Confess, Declare, BelieveConfess, Declare, Believe

You must confess your sin, declare His Lordship, and believe in your heart that God raised Christ from the dead. – Romans 10:9-10

• … if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For a person believes with his heart and is justified, and a person declares with his mouth and is saved.


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Your Prayer for SalvationYour Prayer for Salvation

“Lord, Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I need you. I know that you paid the price for my sins by dying on the cross. I ask that you forgive my sins; and I receive you as my Savior and Lord. I thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Amen.”


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Some Truths to RememberSome Truths to Remember

Remember these simple truths from God’s Word: – 1 John 1:9

• If we make it our habit to confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us those sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

– Romans 8:16• The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we

are God’s children.


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Some Truths to RememberSome Truths to Remember– Ephesians 2:8

• For by such grace you have been saved through faith. This does not come from you; it is the gift of God and not the result of works, lest anyone boast.

– Romans 8:18• For I consider that the sufferings of this present time

are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed to us.


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Some Truths to RememberSome Truths to Remember– 1 John 5:13

• I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

– 2 Corinthians 5:17-18a• Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new

creation. Old things have disappeared, and—look!—all things have become new! All of this comes from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ…


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Myth-Conceptions About Christmas by William Welty, Ph.D. Director, the ISV Foundation Copyright © 2010 William P. Welty, Ph.D. Distributed by Davidson