And what’s really behind it!
Christmas – a festival of love, presents and Christian fairytales. You can somewhat believe that there’s a God, but the story of Jesus is just too strange. A virgin birth? A star that is leading three old, wise kings on their camels? And all of that happening in a small ordinary town just to fulfill an ancient prophecy? Anyone who wants to tell a credible story to a thinking person of the 21st century should start differently – or rather, should have started differently! Did God miss the chance to write his word as credible as possible?
WE ARE FREE NOT TOBELIEVE WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE GOSPELS, BUT THAT IS A DECISION BASED ONPREFERENCE, NOT A REASONING EMERGING FROM EVIDENCE.
Digging Deeper
To dive deeper into the topic, we have put together a list of some articles and videos for you:
A short article by John Dickson about the credibility of the biblical reports, the dating ofJesus’ birth, and the virgin birth: Truth in the Story of Christmas
A short articlefrom [3.] about the reasons for Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and howplausible those reasons are [IN GERMAN]: Warum Maria und Joseph nach Bethlehem reisten
“The book is recommended foreveryone who is interested in the historical reliability of the gospels, and itwill offer skeptics a new point of view on the gospel of Luke.” – Dr. JürgenSpieß (Marburg), ancient historian andfounder of the Institut für Glaube und Wissenschaft (Institute for Faith andScience) [IN GERMAN]: Was geschah an Weihnachten
An article by Peter May about the star’s appearance, the “kings” from the East, and King Herod’s actions. .The star of Bethlehem
Trusting is risky, but without any alternative. If you go without it, you’re on your own. How you can recognize trustworthiness and why faith does not mean blind trust. [IN GERMAN]
Presentation by Prof. Dr. Matthias Clausen during the event week HUMAN 20 in Zurich. HUMAN – Große Fragen des Menschseins (The Big Questions of Human Existence)
Prof. Dr. Matthias Clausen
Prof. Dr. Matthias Clausen is teaching theology at the Academy Tabor in Marburg and is a speaker for the Institut of Theology and Science (IGUW). He speaks at universities across Germany and other countries.
One of his key emphases is being able to communicate in a clear and attractive way about faith in our post-church society. Matthias studied in Wuppertal, Heidelberg and London, got his doctorate in Greifswald and is a speaker for the SMD.
He is married and has 3 kids in school age. Great books, good questions, nice coffee and computers that don’t crash make him happy.
Speaker
