For your Christmas critical thinking pleasure...
Our church is located in a highly populated Jewish area. One of the Rabbis I've spent time with emailed me these two articles in which two scholars debate the birth place of Jesus. One of them argues for Bethlehem, the other for Nazareth.
It's interesting reading. Additionally, I think it's helpful to read authors with differing points of view, particularly historians and scholars. It helps keep our critical thinking skills sharp.
To me, the geography of Jesus early life is one of the most convincing proofs of His unique identity. The Old Testament prophets predicted that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, spend time as a refugee in Egypt, and grow up in Nazareth. It's breathtaking to observe how first century politics played into the fulfillment of these promises.
- He wound up in Bethlehem because Caesar called for a census.
- He wound up in Egypt because Herod launched a genocide.
- He wound up in Nazareth because Archelaus came to power in Judea.
So faith-building to see how God used seemingly out of control events to orchestrate his plan.
not related to this blog at all, but....how about the Packers/Lions game today, huh??!! Even though I'm a Packer fan now (by marriage) I did have a great deal of sympathy for you during that game.
Posted by: Amy Baker | December 30, 2007 at 05:21 PM