Archive for the ‘Christmas’ Category
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 by JEL
As consumers across the land are making their list and checking it twice (or is Santa the only one who does that?), I wonder how many Christian presents make the final cut. Christian products are sold to a tune of $4.6 billion each year, and it only stands to reason that a large percentage of that figure is derived during the Christmas season.
In reading this article, there is a fine line between respectable wares tied to a Christian theme and “Jesus Junk” that strains to find some connection to the latest fads and trends. I feel pretty comfortable that What He Said does not cross that line.
Tags: Christian products, Jesus, What He Said
Posted in Christmas, In The News | No Comments »
Friday, December 11th, 2009 by PJM
My father often jokes that Jesus (and Shakespeare) only talked in clichés.
He is referring to the fact that much of the language from the Bible has been appropriated into our daily speech and cultural literary works. In fact, many readers of What He Said have marveled that certain phrases came from the Gospels and not from far more recent sources (like the speeches of Abraham Lincoln or the lyrics to a White Stripes song). In reviewing the nativity story from Luke, I was struck by the fact that Joseph and Mary offered a “pair of turtledoves” to Simeon in Jerusalem shortly after Christ’s birth.
Now I have to keep looking to figure out if three French hens show up anywhere in my reading.
Tags: Bible, Christmas, modern culture
Posted in Christmas, Four Gospels, The Bible, Words of Christ | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 by JEL
As December 25 quickly approaches, I, like many of you, am up to my eyeballs in shopping lists, tree tinsel, and back-order stress. Yes, Christmas is coming. I think many people forget, while deep in Xbox vs. Wii debates, that Christmas = Jesus’ birthday.
Should we really break out the candles on the 25th?
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John never mention the 25th as the birth date of Christ in their Gospels. So where did it come from? This article provides an answer.
Tags: Christmas, December 25, Four Gospels, Jesus
Posted in Christmas, Four Gospels | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 by PJM
Now that we are in the Christmas season, I have been spending some time in the margins of What He Said. The Gospels of Mark and John begin when Jesus is an adult, but Matthew and Luke both give accounts of Christ’s birth. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting about some aspects of the two birth stories that interest me.
The New Testament begins with the genealogy of Jesus, as told by Matthew. Jesus is the son of Joseph who was the son of Jacob who was the son of Matthan who was the son of Eleazar… But, Luke (in Chapter 3) tells us that Jesus is the son of Joseph who was the son of Heli who was the son of Matthat who was the son of Levi… What’s going on? Was Joseph the son of Jacob or Heli?
I’ve read that Jesus’ ancestry in Matthew is through Joseph and His ancestry in Luke is actually though Mary. When Luke says that Joseph was the son of Heli, he really means “son-in-law.”
This seems to be consistent with another difference in the two accounts of Christ’s birth story. Matthew has an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph (whose ancestors he has just listed). The angel explains to Joseph the circumstances of Mary’s motherhood and tells Joseph to name the child Jesus. But, Luke tells us that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to reveal the mystery of her being with child and tells her to name the child Jesus. So, it makes sense to me that Luke would trace the genealogy of Christ through Mary.
I would love it if a more astute Biblical scholar would step in to let us know if my thinking is off-base.
Tags: Bible, Christmas, Four Gospels, Genealogy, Jesus, Joseph, Mary
Posted in Christmas, Four Gospels, The Bible | 1 Comment »
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