There are reasonable grounds for fixing the birth within a range of several years, but the *date* of his birth is strictly unknown, and anyone who says otherwise is misinterpreting the evidence: traditions regarding the date are all too late to count as reliable sources for turn-of-the-era history. The earliest Christians focused on the death and resurrection of Jesus. The writings of Paul (in the 50s) and the Gospels (written 20 to 50 years later, though, as most scholars believe, incorporating materials that circulated earlier, first orally, then in writing) focus on these. Two of the gospels pay no attention to the circumstances of his birth. The other two do have infancy narratives, but these differ in detail and any way provide no real indication of date. They make important points about the identity and future mission of Jesus, but the precise dating of his birth doesn't even cross their minds. Various efforts to date his birth by seeking astronomical correlations to Matthew's star entirely miss the significance of the "star"--probably an angelic guide.
It wasn't until the fourth century that Christians began to commemorate the birth of Jesus--hence the origins of Christmas. Earlier Christian writers did mention several dates as possibilities for Christ's nativity, including Jan. 6 and Dec. 25, but also dates in November and May and perhaps others. But the writings in which these statements are made provide no grounds for regarding them as anything other than rumors and guesses. Dec. 25 and Jan. 6 (or rather, the corresponding dates in the various current calendars) are both dates that were used for the winter solstice; probably the solstice (the darkest day of the year) was chosen as the point from which the light of Christ would spread abroad. But that's a guess too.
2006-11-09 12:07:34
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answer #3
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answered by Brite Tiger 6
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May
To Brite Tiger: Why did you have to get all technical with it? Lawd have mercy!
2006-11-09 12:08:39
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answer #4
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answered by Tasha 3
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that boy should come out with a dance viedeo
brite tiger can't read
not very brite
2006-11-09 12:06:14
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answer #5
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answered by Talking Hat 6
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