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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1956)
Statesman, Salem, Ore., Fit, Dec. 21, 53 (Sec. Mami flimeiinnr imuiij uugjiiuio - About Christmas Unanswered shop 'til 9 Monday thru Friday By GEORGE W. CORNELL AP RELIGION WRITER Many an unanswered question (till exist! today about a birthday that millions o( people ara getting ready to celebrate. The occasion: Christmas. It marks the birth ot Jesus Christ, but on just what day or in what month or even in what year it happened is not definitely known, and popular pageantry has given some misleading fea tures .to the setting. Net Bera is 1 A.D. One thing that scholars accept as certain, Christ -was not born in the year 1 A O., as the- calen dar suggests. It was at least four or live years before, maybe mx or seven. Another thing, the "wise men" did not appear with their gifts at the time. It was weeks, months and probably a year or more later, as can best be calculated. Certainly they weren't present at-t the manger scene. Besides, the idea that there were "three wise men" is only reasoned conjecture. The Bible doesn't specify. Some old writers say there were 12. of them. Qaestleas Uaaaswered And since it was Just a census taking that caused Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem where the birth occurred, why did they remain ' there for months after ward? "Why didn't they return home to Nazareth? How long did that star hover over Bethlehem and what caused HI What made Christianity settle on December 25 as the birthday? Were the shepherds in the pasture in midwinter? Whence came the mistletoe? . Geeaela Give Meaalag Although the Gospels give the meaningful part of the story, it's an old human urge to try to re duce weiehtier truthi down la simple, tangible things names, : dates, places and plain, step-by-step chronology. The historians back in the be ginning years of Christianity don't record these details abdut Christ's birth and life, apparently consid ering it of little consequence, but they do make general references to him. Writes Judoaa historian Flavlus Josephus: "About this time there lived Jesus, a man full of wisdom, if indeed one may call him a man. For he was a doer of incredible things. ..he thus attracted to him self many Jews and many Gen tiles1 TaeHaa Traces Nasse Roman historian Publius Tacitus ays of. the newly rounded Chris . tianity: "This name comes. ..from Christ, whom the procurator, Pon tius PUate, tinder the rule of i Tiberius, had banded ever to tor-' tore." x . i They don't give the usual bio- i graphical data. But bit by bit, supplementing Gospel accounts ; wkh other ancient recorded in-j formation, pieces and threads; have been drawn together, pro- j viding some historically based conclusions. First of all. it is evident Jesus i was born prior to 4 B.C., since! that is the year of the death of Herod the Great, who ordered the slaying of infants under 2 in Bethlehem to try to kill the Christ child. Hered Leaned Lata Since Herod didn't learn of the child until the arrival in Judes of the "wise men from the east," the baby already was many week, perhaps more than a year, old when Herod decided to act. 1 ' Exactly bow fong it took the i wise men io get is newienem after Jeaui's birth is not estsb- lished. Gosoel terminolocv and earlv church writers suggest the east-j enters came from Persia or Chat-' dea. This meant a trip of 1.000 to 2,000 miles. Counting prepara tion time, such a journey by camel must have taken . many months. ' Herod Died 4 B.C. Also, the fact that Herod or dered death for infanta np to two years old indicates the child was then considered over a year old. More time went by, during Joseph' and Mary's stay in Egypt, before Herod died m 4 B.C. Another factor enters here the star over Bethlehem. Around that period, astronomy records some i spectacular solar conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B.C. and of Jupiter and Venus in B.C. .These would have persisted for some time, as would have been; necessary to guide the wise men all through their long journey. Assuming Jesus was born in 1. C, what about the month and day? ' laraarkef 9M Years It was nearly MO years after his birth before his followers be gin to observe the anniversary. There were great differences about the dale. Strangely,, there's no month In the year that hasn't been named as the proper one by soma reputa- j ble authority back in early church times. They argued cases for var ious dates May 20, Nov. 17, Jan. I, April 19. March 25 and others. Eventually, about 250 A. D.. Western churches centered in Rome began to use Dec. 23. East ern churches termed this idola trous, since the same date was celebrated as the birth of the sun god, Mithta. 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